Tis the Season to be Thankful...

It's so easy to get caught up in the negative lately....with the ongoing war that seems neverending...the economy...the housing and job markets...things all around us are grim. I received an email from my cousin last week that listed out all the things that seem negative but are really positive - I am thankful for tight clothes because it means I have more than enough to eat....I am thankful for my housework because it means I have a home to live in...I'm thankful for my bills because it means I have warmth, water, electricity and all the other things I need to live comfortably. I'm really REALLY trying to focus on those little annoyances that are really blessings.

Yes, I have a wonderful family, amazing friends, the health of my son and myself, my sweetheart...I have a home and a car...blessings abound...however there's always the desire for more, isn't there? A better paying/more prestigous job...a better body...more money in the savings account. It's so easy to lose sight of the small blessings of everyday.

My life is good...so much better than it was 5 years or 2 years ago. God has a plan...

Love being in Love...

Most days, I consider myself the luckiest girl in the world. There was a time - not all that long ago - where I was pretty certain that I'd go thru the rest of my life with Logan...just the two of us...and I'd be destined to die alone. Pretty much as soon as I resigned to that fact and came to terms with it, a man came into my life and changed my song. The blues became love songs. The clouds parted and sweet sunshine shined on me. The warmth of being loved continues to wrap itself around my heart daily. I'm blessed.

I met this amazing person in an uncommon way...but of course, I don't really DO things the typical way anyway. From that very first date, I knew I'd found someone special...someone who was amazingly even-keel, mellow, kind and sweet. Someone who didn't just listen to me, but heard what I had to say. My heart still flutters when I think back to that first few weeks...those days when I was dying to see if he'd call again...praying he would...counting down the hours until I could see him again. The best part about our relationship, even 14 months later?? I still feel that way!! I see his name on my cell phone and I get butterflies. He walks thru the door and I smile...just because he's coming towards me. I still love all those things I noticed the very first day...the mellowness, the fact that he is so slow to anger and so quick to forgive, his kindness and his sensitivity. What I didn't know on that first date was that he's never had a relationship with a woman last more than 4 months. I didn't know that I was the first girl he'd ever bring to a holiday with this family. I also didn't know how amazing his family is...how they would welcome me and my son with open hearts and arms as if we'd always been a part of their family.

Unlike this love of my life, I have been in long-term relationships before...relationships that were WORK and that seemed HARD...like most of the time, I was asking myself what the point of being with this person was if I spent most of my time feeling crappy about myself or questioning the motives of the person on the other half of the relationship. Now, I'm not naive. I realize that this man I am with and I WILL have rough times. I know that it won't always be sunshine and butterflies...but I also know that as a team, we do pretty dang well. We communicate in respectful conversations and our fights are very few and far between (2 in 14 months).

I consider myself extremely lucky. I may have had to wait 30 years for this man to come into my life...and he may have had to wait 35 years....however I firmly believe that the cosmos had an agenda unknown to me. I needed to go thru all the crappy relationships to appreciate how wonderful a relationship can be when both parties are respectful of the other. This man had to experience many short relationships to appreciate how wonderful it is to have someone there - thru the good and the bad...thru the thick and the thin...thru the clouds and the sun. They say Timing is everything...and after all this time and all these experiences....I believe that cliche....

Loving 3.5 years old!!!

I have loved every stage my son has gone thru. I loved the innocence and helplessness of a newborn...I loved the 'every day is something new' of an infant. I loved the toddler for being between baby and big kid...but I'm tellin' ya...this 3 year old phase is a blast. No longer do we need gear to go somewhere...the stroller, the big diaper bag, the snacks, all of it is a thing of the past. There is nothing he can't eat...nothing he can't do. And the best part is that he'll TELL me if he has any concerns...or opinions...or daydreams...or anything else, as that self-editting feature in his brain is not yet connected. We can have conversations that go from what he did in school to what he did last Christmas Eve to what he wants for breakfast the next morning in almost one breath!! I'm also absolutely elated that we defeated potty training!!!! Phil did it, actually. He got ahold of the incentive that sealed the deal - Spiderman tattoos. Press on tattoos that were the reward for doing the business in the office and not in the pants. Suddenly, it clicked. THANK YOU PHIL!!!!!! I was beyond the end of my rope and he got it to click. What a guy!!!

I love that my three year old knows who John McCain is...I'm not sure why he knows that canididate and not the other one, but he does. I love that he still wants to be hugged and kissed in public...nothing is embarrassing...and yet if I ask him to put his shoes on, he can do it. I love that he has a minor conception of time...and if I say "later" or "in 5 minutes" he will indeed remind me that I said we'd do something "later" or "in 5 minutes". I love that he knows his body...and that when something doesn't feel right, he tell me. He grasps the concept of negotiation...and is mastering the art of negotiation just like his mom!! I love that he has definate opinions on what he likes and doesn't like. I love that not only will he sing the nursery rhymes and play songs but he'll also sing along with the radio.

I know that the next age will come and I'll love that one too...but 3.5 is dang fun. I hope that ten years from now, I can still hear his innocent giggling in my head when he's locking himself in his room to get away from me. Think there's still time to make sure he never does that??

Why Having a Common Name Sucks...

Amy Johnson. In 1977, 'Amy' was third in popularity - following 'Jennifer' and 'Sara(h)'. 'Johnson' is now the second most popular last name to 'Smith'. Combine the two and you have the name I share with at least 25,000 women in the United States. This causes issues in almost every aspect of my life.

In junior high, the principal called my house and informed my parents that I had cut gym class. Little did he know that there were 2 Amy Johnson's. The other one was a year older than me and in the class that ran at the same time by a different teacher. SHE WAS known to skip gym. MY parents got called. When my mom picked me up, she questioned me about it. Luckily we were doing swimming in gym and my hair was still damp to prove to her I was attending class. Little did I know this was not going to be the first time my name was going to get me in trouble.

In college, my mom called me to say that I was getting overdraft notices in the mail constantly and to stop spending money. I hadn't been. We investigaed and found out that a teller gave another Amy Johnson who came into the bank requesting a new ATM card my card encoder and my PIN. She and her new husband cashed out my account traveling thru Europe. My mom helped me to scramble and find all the pay stubs and cancled checks I'd collected that summer to prove the amount of money that was in my account legitimately. Talk about a pain in the ass!!

I've had salons call to confirm apointments that I never made...even my adding my birthdate to pharmacy records doesn't help sometimes...as 3/29/1977 can also leave another Amy Johnson to get confused with. I introduce myself in both business and social settings and someone always says "I know another Amy Johnson"...no kidding.

I am blogging about this because I'm convinced of another issue that is plaging me and I didn't even realize this until now. An 'Amy Johnson' is never going to win a contest. They will never pull "Amy Johnson" out of a hat and announce that she won the best concert tickets from the radio station. Why??? Because it would cause a nightmare for the radio station. They'd have to pay for someone to sit there and sift thru all the 'Amy Johnson's' who'd call thinking they'd won. "Amy Johnson" will never hear her name announced in a crowd saying she's won a new car...5 women will come running.

I have always thought that getting married would be a great thing for me - I could change my name to (hopefully) something less common and my issue would go away...however now I have my son...who when he was born, I THOUGHT I was naming a less common name...come to find out that 'Logan' was the 7th most popular name in 2005. Poor kid...he'll probably never win anything off the radio either...

Sweet Relief...

I don't know why I do this to myself. I get something on my heart and I stew about it and my brain spins about it and I get myself so worked up over it that I'm basically frozen. I can't think about anything else and yet I can't talk about what is bothering me so much. I get scared that if I talk about it, I'm going to hurt someone's feelings or disappoint them...which is the absolute last thing I want to do to anyone. It gets to the point that have dreams where I am sobbing and trying to talk and nothing comes out of my mouth except air. SO disturbing.

So...there's been something on my heart for months...and I got myself worked into a total tizzy over it. I've been having the dreams. The whole nine yards. I finally got to the end of my rope and said something...let it all out...well...ok I didn't SAY it...but I wrote an email and spilled it. Somehow writing things out allows me to read and reread my statements over and over to make sure it's all coming out the way I want it to. I knew that if I actually SAID the words, I'd either cry or some off mad or upset...which is not the case. I just needed to get some things off my chest.

Know what? Not only did the conversation that stemmed from the email go extremely well, but I feel SO much better. The weight is lifted and everytime I even think about the issue, it seems so much smaller than it did before. WHY did I wait so long? WHY do I do that to myself?? I know the answer. I hate confrontation and I hate tension...and I was so afraid that if I brought up the issue, I'd have to deal with both of those things...and not with just anyone but with someone I love with all my heart. I'm so lucky though...not only did the issues get out in the open, but I was told that I need to speak my mind more...that this person needs me to communicate my thoughts and they won't get upset or mad...they'll be thankful that I didn't turn myself inside out with anxiety before talking about things.

For someone who loves straight-forward communication, I sure know how to muddle things up once in a while!!! At least for now, I can have some relief.

Life's Simplest Pleasures...

Here is a list of some of my absolute favorite things...

The smell of banana bread baking...

Strong, genuine hugs....

Hearing people you love laugh....

Looking thru old photo albums...

Suprising people with little things...

Phone calls from old friends...

Hearing songs you love but haven't heard in forever...

Laughing so hard your face and abs hurt...

Holding babies...

Pedicures...

A cleansing cry...

Waking up to the coffeepot already full...

Long, hot showers...

Sore muscles after a day of working them...

A glass of yummy wine and a good book...

Chocolate...

Finding money in that winter coat you put away 8 months ago...

Kissing your sweetheart and not thinking about anything else...

Floating in the sunshine on water...

Shaved legs...

Good sushi with good company...

The feeling I get after donating platelets - knowing I just saved someones life...

Hearing my son repeat a story or something I taught him...makes a mom proud...

Sleeping in...

Clean sheets...

Getting a good deal on something I've wanted and waited for...

Hearing I've done a good job....

Spending time with my girlfriends...

Couple questions...

1. If Americans are getting bigger all the time - heavier and taller and all-around bigger - then why are airplane seats getting smaller and closer together all the time??

2. How come after a nice long and hard workout you don't look as thin as you feel?

3. I've been gone for 6 days - how come Logan's vocabulary and personality grows in the 6 days I'm gone and not in the past 6 weeks I was here??

4. How come sometimes if I don't have my morning coffee, the headache doesn't set in until nighttime?

5. How come every one elses' parents age except mine??