4-MONTH-OLD FLOWER GIRL (NYC MOMS BLOG)

Mommy & Daddy sittin' in a tree

K-I-S-S-I-N-G

First comes love, 

Then comes marriage, 

Then comes the baby in the... 

Oh, wait.  FIRST comes the baby.

CLICK HERE to read my full post at NYC Moms Blog

R.A. + J.W.

Less than 60 days before I get hitched... and I can't think of much else!  If you want to keep up with what I'm doing/thinking/planning for over the next 2 months, visit WHILE WE LOVE.

i want to grow old with you

so you can lend me your arm

as we take slow walks around the mall

& you can kiss my cheek during the day

& my forehead at night

& I could sleep safely in your embrace

from our first day

until our last breath

together

& my pains would be yours

& your joys would be mine

& we could eat at little diners

& notice young couples

glancing at us 
while we love

still as our wrinkles

& gray hairs have become abundant

& our speech softer than it used to be 

& our hands would feel empty

if not filled with the other’s heart 

& soul

& our bodies would wither

without the warmth of synchronized touch

& time will be less important 

& age won’t matter

AWKWARD

TUESDAY NEWS DAY

Not exactly "news" but it made me laugh.

... WHEN YOU'RE HAVING FUN

MONDAY MORNING MEMORY

Remember when it was the beginning of April,

And now there are only 10 days left until May... 

How did that happen exactly?!

HAPPY EASTER

this year

and from now on

"Happy Easter"

will have a whole new meaning

HEART AND SOUL

"I am nothing special; of this I am sure.  I am a common man with common thoughts, and I've led a common life.  There are no monuments dedicated to me.  And my name will soon be forgotten.  But I've loved another with all my heart and soul.  And to me, this has always been enough."

THE NOTEBOOK
by Nicholas Sparks

I think back on my life a year ago.  
And I reflect today on how lucky I truly am.  
 I'm loving two others with all my heart and soul.  
And that, to me, is more than enough.

OVERHEARD

FRIDAY WORDS OVERHEARD

"Are you crying 'cause you had to come into work?  That makes me cry every day."

(overheard a colleague say this to Grace when I brought her to work today)

"Son, if you're gonna have sex on the beach..."

(overheard on the sidewalk just outside of church - for reals)

"A mom on the subway just forced hand sanitizer on her kid before a snack. Same mom missed the kid liking the subway pole right before."

(over-read on facebook...thanks, lexy!)

DON'T DISCARD

THURSDAY THINK LINK

Acton MBA Master Teacher:  Steven Tomlinson

"My dad said, 'You sound depressed... Why are you getting good at something you don't like doing? What would you want to do if you didn't have to make money and no one would be impressed at your job?'"

If you have about a half hour to re-imagine your life:  Click on that link above and listen!

In the spring of 2007, I had the pleasure of working on a show called AMERICAN FIESTA.  It was about a man who's mid-life crisis took the form of an Ebay addiction to buying Fiestaware... but it was also about so much more than that.  And it was written and performed by Steven Tomlinson.

Steven was a sweet, smart, sensitive guy I really admired - he wasn't an actor by trade, he just loved the theatre and seemed to stumble into this Off-Broadway run.  So, recently when I stumbled across a video of his inspirational speech on the blog of another guy I really admire, I was delighted to be reminded of Steven's passion for life - and the passion he is able to infuse into other people's lives, too.

"When I got to Austin I sought out the man that I heard was the wisest advisor... and I went to this wise counsel and I said look, I love teaching but I hate research.  And I love theatre and I somehow want to get into that.  And I love theology and the big questions - that's what jazzes me.  So you tell me what to do and whatever you say, I'm gonna do.  Do I hold my nose and get tenure at UT?  Or do I quit it all and go to New York and write plays 'til I'm discovered?  Or do I just chuck it all and go back to seminary and become a priest?  And he said, 'This is the stupidest question anyone has ever asked me. You're telling me that you love three things.  And you're asking me which two should I cut off so I can limp along on the third one into mid-life unhappiness.'  I said, well what am I supposed to do?  He said, 'You're supposed to do all of it.  So, I want you to now go and don't discard.  Don't discard.  Spend an hour a week doing each one of those three things with full engagement...'  I said, I don't know how to do that.  He said, 'If you're not gonna do it, don't come back 'cause I can't help you.'"

"If someone told me when I was in college that I could get a job as a Corporate Spiritual Playwright, I would have majored in that.  It would not have been a hard choice.  ... my experience with bootstrapping was this: number one, don't discard.  Whatever it is that you love is a reliable source of inspiration and if it stays in the mix it's gonna create your unique brilliance.  The people who bring the pieces of themselves back into the mix find power, find energy, and come up with stuff that's marketable that no one else can think of. "