Babies, Brownies and Blessings

What would you say if I told you you changed my life? That the words spoken, gift given, correction offered, letter written shifted me from one track to another? Would you wonder why I never told you before now? Feel motivated to continue to walk in your glory with the affirmation of your gifting fresh in your mind, letter in hand? There are times we think to share appreciation with those who have made an impact: promotion, retirement, relocation, career change, but those opportunities are so few and far between. Some time ago I decided I wanted to send one letter a week to a person who impacted me: a note of gratitude with observable ways someone had affected or motivated me, or ways I have seen them make a difference. Here I sit, MONTHS later, still roosting on that idea, never yet hatching it. I know there are varying degrees of un-appreciation in every profession- but having only lived the occupation of nurse the last 18 years, I'm going to speak to that. Maybe it was night shi...

Those three little words drove me nuts when my kids were young. Mamas who had been through the insanity of multiple toddlers and were now in the teenage years would often look at me funny when I'd say something like "I bet it will be so much easier when they are older", or if I mentioned my longing for the day when they could at least wipe their own butts. The idea of having a minute that I didn't have to worry that one kid was harming the other, or ingesting toilet water, or emptying out a cereal box on the floor- all made me long for a time in the future. Some moms would smile and nod, commiserate that I was in the labor-intensive years, and don't worry, it'll get better. One day you'll go to the bathroom by yourself again (hopefully without having to worry about the tornado I'd discover due to my 1 minute absence with three creative toddlers running free around the house). They would see the tired eyes, the spit-up stains on my shirt, the le...