Savvy Toddler Mom

Oh, the comfort, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person, having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring them all out, just as they are, chaff and grain together, certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and with a breath of kindness blow the rest away.  ~Dinah Craik

Today I celebrate ChasingToddlerMom.  It’s her birthday, and what better day to celebrate all that she is, all that she has done, and her goals and dreams for the future.  She is my best friend, and more like me than I can believe, and yet different still!

Here is a woman, a strong, intelligent, determined woman — not to mention beautiful and with excellent taste in fashion — who overcomes daily the struggle of “doing it all.”  She and I want it all… we want to be wives and mothers and homemakers and have careers and hobbies and friends, fulfilling commitments to our husbands, our children, our families, our church, our society, and — of course — ourselves.  We want it all and we want to do it all well.  It is this goal, this attitude towards life, that I love about CTM.

When we go to the gym together, the time flies by as we discuss our days, our challenges, our failures, and our victories.  It is pure therapy.  We haven’t been able to work out together in a couple of weeks, as I have been battling pregnancy exhaustion (twins=tired-squared) and morning sickness… and OH, HOW I’VE MISSED IT!  Not having several hours of good conversation a week is taking its toll on my ability to cope.

Thank you, CTM, for being a true friend.  Thank you for listening to EVERYTHING and helping me get through it all — good times and bad.  Thank you for sharing the last seven (at least I think it’s been seven…) years with me.  Through this job and that job, this foot surgery and that gall bladder surgery, this pregnancy and that pregnancy, not to mention our two crazy boys (and so much more!!!)… you have made life’s challenges easier and funnier.

As you celebrate your birthday today and embark on another year of this adventure we call life, please know that I just love you and love that we are friends.  The next year will be an interesting one for both of us (aren’t they all?) and I am looking forward to sharing it with you.  I am so excited to meet your new little boy (CTM’s 37 weeks pregnant this week!) and finding out what he is all about.  I can’t wait to find out what his birth story is.  I am looking forward to hearing how Little Ro’ grows and adjusts to this addition to your family.  I am so hoping that this baby will be a much easier newborn for you.

Oh, I could go on forever. 

Happy birthday, CTM, and thank you. 

No road is long with good company.  ~Turkish Proverb