unexpected

There is one thing that I have gained since becoming a mother that I did not at all anticipate. It is something that most new mothers probably do not have, or if they do then it was already well established. (Or maybe they are just cooler than me?) It is also something that it has always been a struggle for me to maintain/find/enjoy for most of my life.

It is the ever-elusive "social life".

It would seem (or at least I assumed) that once you have a little person dependent on you for food, shelter, and most other things necessary for survival, a social life would go right out the window. Kind of like free time and sleeping in (oh, goodness, how I miss sleeping in...). But in the past few months I have found the opposite to be true.

I attribute this to a number of things. First, and most importantly, I have an amazing and supportive husband. He is so wonderful with our little girl and is willing, even happy, to be home with her in the evenings while I work (and now play some, too!) with hardly a complaint. I am also much more comfortable being away at night now that Laine has a set bedtime routine. Every night by 7:30 I can be fairly certain that she is asleep and will stay that way for approximately 12 hours (am I a lucky woman or what, y'all?). Also, I have entered into situations that are conducive to forming adult friendships, the first being a group of new mothers that meets weekly at Full Bloom, which has become the foundation for Mother's Night Out festivities, weekly playdates, etc. The second is the production of Carousel that I recently auditioned for and was cast in. Being surrounded by such passionate, clever, talented, and fun-loving people has been rejuvenating for me in so many ways and has really filled a hole in my life that I wasn't even really aware existed.

All this is to say that I am happy and fulfilled beyond measure at this time in my life. My daughter is precious and healthy and happy and brings me joy daily (hourly, even). My husband is an anchor and compass for our family and for me, and has proven his love for me by allowing me and encouraging to do things that I may otherwise have let pass by. And my new-found friends and freedom have reminded me how much fun it can be to define myself in terms other than "mother" and "wife" and "teacher". Things like "performer" and "friend" and "adult". And the more complete a person I am, the more ways I find to define myself, the better I become at those first, most important, three.

changing the world... one blog at a time

It seems that I have been inspiring people to start their own blogs... namely my co-workers! Fortunately for me (and for those of you who like to read blogs), I work with interesting, creative, and artistically talented people.

First to join the blogging fun were my bosses, Shane and Terra. They started theirs to celebrate and document the arrival of their third son (!!!) Chase and the goings-ons of their busy little family (running a dance studio and taking care of three little boys under 5 would give anyone something to blog about!).

And then came Wonder Woman, AKA Lucy. Lucy wears many hats around the studio but basically she runs the joint. Between keeping up with accounts and tuition, to ordering costumes and organizing everything for our showcase and performances, Lucy is the go-to gal for pretty much everything on the business side of things. She also happens to be a talented actress in her own right and is going to grad school in L.A. next year. Sad times for me and the rest of the staff, but SO awesome for Lucy!

The last one to tell me of her new foray into bloggerdom is fellow teacher Hillary. Hillary is the only teacher that has been at the studio longer than I have, and she is hanging in there even now that she is teaching middle school math, and coaching both soccer and cheerleading! Her dedication to and love for her students is really amazing to see... and they definitely return the feelings.

It's exciting for me to see all of these people jumping onto the bandwagon and sharing their perspectives and lives via blogging. Anyone else joining in the fun?

happy mother's day!

It's amazing beyond words the changes in me (my perspective, my priorities, my family and marriage, my internal clock, my capacity for anxiety as much as for joy, my body, my ability to do things one-handed, my definition of "free time", the size and bounds of my ability to love) from here:

To here:

To here.


Happy Mother's Day to all who are blessed enough to be one, have one, or become one.

"The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new." ~Rajneesh