JustMOMsensations

Pick the best party .  Have the right outfit .  Choose the perfect cocktail .  Articulate the most compelling resolutions for the new year.  THE PRESSURE IS TOO MUCH!!!!! December 31st is just another day.  EVERY day is the beginning of something new.  My advice to all of you??  Ignore the hype.  Try to have a fun night, like you do every night.  Spend time with the people you care about most and stay safe. My resolution for 2013 is to NOT make a complicated list of promises.  Complicated proclamations are bound to fail. Simply be better, do good, & have more patience for those who don't.  I try  to remember this every day.  Sometimes I fail, but I believe the conciousness of these simple promises means that I must do marginally better, just by the nature of my good intentions.   All the best in 2013 - Happy Tuesday, and Happy New Year.  

Seems so many people are hesitant to come right out and say it - Merry Christmas !!! I too have friends and family of many cultures and respect them and their beliefs immensely.  I also respect myself and as a Christian, am proud to offer and receive Merry Christmas wishes.  Most of you understand that my wishes of a "Merry Christmas", regardless of your beliefs, means I am joyous to celebrate this holiday and want to share my joy with you.  If you do not understand and are offended by this, I make no apology, but to you I say "Happy Holidays".    From my home to yours, all the best this season and as we welcome 2013!!

Recent tragedies in the news and the looming holiday season caused me to question the value of my blog topics and it's import and relevance, by comparison.  As so often happens, I was sent exactly what I needed.  This simple, yet multilayered quote woke me up: When things get complex and heavy, some of us feel overwhelmed and withdraw.  Perhaps we question, as I did, our purpose and legacy, in the face of much greater things.  For some, the sheer magnitude of concepts become overwhelming and it seems safer to do nothing than to do the wrong thing. When in doubt, keep it simple, silly.  For me, write about what jostles my sensations or sparks my mind.  It doesn't need to be profound to the masses, if I need to say it and one person responds. If someone is sad, no need to fix everything - smile or say one kind thing to them today.  It will make a difference. It doesn't matter if the house is perfect and there are 12 appetizers on the table with a 4 course meal in the

Every once in a while there is a moment in time when the stillness and comfort of the universe are in complete tune with our soul. The moments occur more often than we recognize them.   Life moves so fast.   Worries speak louder than the whispers of our joy.   On one very special day, I was tired enough and listening hard enough to hear.   The day my daughter was born and the days following were the most peaceful of my life.   The density of the calm inside me and its depth radiated to put me at center with Mother Nature and completely connect with my spirituality.   I was in perfect harmony with the universe.   This feeling can only be compared to the feeling I felt when I finally gave in to a prescription for anti depressants almost two years later. The trouble with the peace immediately following birth – it is temporary – only no one warns you.   The hormones that are released at birth to relax the muscles and stimulate contractions cause both a feeling of peace and loss of me

For those of us who celebrate Christmas, we know one day our child will ask the truth about Santa.   My daughter did today, and I told her the truth.   “Yes Zoey, Santa is real.”   Confused, she said, “But Mommy, <BOY> at school said it is all a big lie.  His Mommy said Santa is NOT real and <BOY> said I am stupid to think he is.” As I often do at times like these, I ask myself who teaches that poor boy about kindness and hurtful words, but I digress.   I took a deep breath, put aside the conversation about the boy, for later, and invoked the answer to this question that has been forming since her first day of school.     I told her that I believe Santa is real.  I asked her to let me explain and then she could decide what she believes.   I reminded her that as Christians, we believe God is real, even if we can’t see or hear him the way we do each other .   I told her that Santa is the spirit of giving, much like the wise men who brought gifts on that very first Christma

Preparing for my participation in the Refresh 2013 event, I kept thinking about the pivotal time in my life when a series of events forced me to refresh my goals and self image.  This story of my reinvention adventure was published in Chicken Soup, Finding Your Happiness .    What Do You Do? by Sheri Gammon Dewling “We think she has pneumonia again – you need to come get her,” said the Daycare provider who was caring for my eighteen month old daughter.   “I’m on my way, “I assured her and turned back to my computer screen.   Staring back at me was an incomplete sales proposal I was preparing for an upcoming pitch.   My first thought was, “come on ... how am I going to get this proposal done in time”. I got in the car and tears rolled down my face when I realised how wrong I was.   My baby was sick again and she needed me.   It was the second time she had pneumonia in two months, after six months of ear infections, high fevers and a persistent cough.   She was ill and she ne