Son Days...

The making of this mama has been a very unexpected journey... I must admit, at the first sign of the pink line, I had piles and piles of books on pregnancy; you know the ones that tell you what to expect. Yep, I had those! We took Lamaze classes; you know to help with the breathing and all! Hah! I thought I was so prepared with literature and breathing techniques, boy was I ever wrong! I  didn't  know what to expect with any of my boys! Here we go! The spring of 2000 would bring me to the delivery room for the first time! Excited, scared and definitely not sure what to expect, (although I had read all of the books on what to expect) I gave birth to our first son, Nathan. He was beautiful, almost 9 pounds of beautiful. The delivery was pretty fast and I was able to pull him from my womb and put him directly on my chest. It was amazing! That was definitely unexpected as the doctor asked me if I wanted to pull him out. I remember freaking out for a half of a s...

Yesterday I was able to spend a few minutes with Will before he went to football...we decided to get a liquid salad (green smoothie) from one of our favorite places, The Sweet Escape!  As we were drinking our smoothie, we were discussing his day at school, his homework and of course, football!  I caught myself staring at him with that green mustache (from turning his cup upside down) and it melted my heart, because I knew this time was so limited and fleeting before my eyes...I took a breath and literally choked back on my tears... I stopped myself from thinking about "tomorrow" and decided to stay in the "right now" and enjoy it... And we did!  We laughed on the way to the field and talked about boy stuff...things that make him smile...dogs, drums and football!   Y'all, that kid loves dogs, drums and football!  And I love hearing him talk about all of it! Ronnie met me at the high school field and took Will to his football practice so I was abl...

Today I am going to mix it up a little...this post is not about crying over a "Sappy Senior Mama" moment...it is about embracing treasured time with my family, overcoming fears to do so and making memories we will never forget!  These "SON DAYS" are the BEST DAYS!  These "SON DAYS" make me smile!  These "SON DAYS" bring joy to my heart!  And I am going to share our special "SON DAY" with you here... Y'all, we went deep sea fishing!  It was amazing and exhilarating!  Something I had never experienced and that our boys had not either. I learned quite a bit on that boat...actually the learning process started before I ever got on it... I was fearful of the "unknown."  I was fearful of what I had never done before.  You can believe that before I went to bed Friday night I was Googling deep sea fishing and all that jazz!  I even called to see if Todd wanted to go in my place because I was afraid my body with the inj...

The first week of school is officially over... I am not sure how I feel about that just yet... Blink...one week down. One week closer to graduation for Nathan... One week closer to middle school for Will... Making the most of the time we have together is really important to us. It has always been a priority, but now it just feels different ...kind of like running around with a bottle trying to catch it and capture every second...yes, that is what I feel like I am doing!  I don't want my bottle to be empty at the end of the day!  (crazy analogy, perhaps, but one that I see myself doing!)  Don't laugh, pick a bottle up and join me!   Football season is underway; that means practice for both boys, homework, games...you know, all of the busy-ness that comes along with sports and academics and the schedule that it brings! This schedule is one we are accustomed to and have been since our pee-wee football days with Nathan and then welcomed with open...

"Bye Mom!  I love you!"  Words that echoed through the dark hallway down to my my room at 4:30 this morning right before the door closed... And just like that, he was on his way...driving his own truck to the gym. This wasn't the first time I heard those words before dawn or the first time he drove himself there...but this particular day, when the echo stopped, I found myself realizing that one day, in the near future, I wouldn't be hearing those words as frequently coming and going out of our house.  I sighed. Yep, this growing up is hard stuff. I wanted to jump up and see if he got everything he needed to go to school after workouts...the mom in me ~last week~ would have...but I am learning to let go...little pieces at a time.  Okay, confession...I am forcing myself to let go!  All the while, learning, I suppose. I guess the reality is that when you do something for seventeen years it is pretty hard to not do it anymore... Change. ...

Here I am, tears rolling down my face, sitting behind a computer trying to pull my son's senior football ad together...I had to push it aside and come here...my mama and my writer's heart is about to explode, so as a new chapter is starting in our lives, I am starting a place to talk about it...  Welcome to "SON DAYS!" Let me take a minute and introduce myself and my journey to the hot messy-ness that I am all about right now... My name is Lori.  I am 43 years old.  I am a wife to my sugar pie, Ronnie.  I am a mother to three beautiful boys.  I love shoes.  I love chocolate.  I love lip gloss and mascara!  And sparkles!  Those of you that know me, y'all knew I wasn't going to forget that, right? Now for the introduction of my three sons...my three sons that make everyday a "SON DAY" for me! Nathan, aka Moose...a senior in high school. Will, aka Stitch...a fifth grader in elementary school. Matthew, aka...my Lil' ...