When you are very close to your family it is very difficult to live far away from them. I am lucky that I am only 2 1/2 hours driving distance from them, but in a perfect world I would be able to visit them more regularly. This Mother’s Day my sister is hosting a BBQ and my parents and brother are going to her, and I will be the only one not there…That is tough for me. It is my fault though. I technically could go…but as you read in a previous post my mom visited just last week and I got to spend time with her then. Isn’t that what the day is about anyway? Spending time with your mom? Plus, since I have chosen to live a bit of a distance away, I have to learn to accept I am just going to miss some things.

Here’s to You Mom!

I figure this can be a great forum to openly praise my mom! Here’s to you mom!

My mom is the greatest mom in the world. I am one lucky girl! She has always been there for our family in every way. I strive in every way to someday be a mom like her. She put her entire self into being a mom. She was a homemaker by trade, and along with my dad made us the great and close family unit we are today. I can always count on my mom for anything. She is my friend, my support, and my cheerleader. Words can’t express my thanks…but with all my heart THANK YOU MOM FOR BEING YOU!

This Mother’s day I will be celebrating with my Mother in law. My husband’s family is amazing so I am lucky to be able to spend this day with them. Someday I will be a mother myself, so this day will be mine.  I look forward to that!

So to all the Mothers, I hope you enjoyed your day!

How do you spend Mother’s Day?

Family Help Traditions

Growing up my grandma would always visit and help my mom around the house doing the jobs that she herself never wanted to do. Now, my mom feels that she should pay it forward and do the same for me. These jobs include, washing the windows, mopping the floors, dusting everything very thoroughly, wiping my baseboards…the list could go on and on. This visit she did all that and more. It is so helpful to have someone else do those jobs. Those are the things that no one really sees unless you look up close. Those jobs always get put to the way side, and in my case don’t ever get done.

Other Family Visit Benefits

With her visits come other fun activities. I am lucky enough to have a flexible job and a great boss. (Thanks dad!) Therefore, when my mom visits we are able to do other things which mostly include shopping. My husband someday will have to ban her visits due to the amount of money I spend when she’s here! This time actually wasn’t bad since we both are slowing down our spending and did not buy much, but we still did a lot of errands! It’s fun doing my errands with someone else.

Another thing we do when she visits is EAT! Wow, am I fat after this visit.  She loves trying new and different food (unlike me) and we always end up eating out at different restaurants. This time we did Greek food, Tai food, and greasy baseball stadium food (courtesy of the new Met’s Citi Field). All were very wonderful, but my waistline is not very pleased with me. But hey, all in the name of family, right?

So there ya have it. The sergeant has come and gone, and I wish she could come more often. But I am thankful that both of our schedules are flexible enough to have her come as much as she does. Now it’s back to my normal routine…that is until Thursday when my brother flies in from Europe! Lots of family house guests this weeks!

Introduction to Adulthood

My mom and dad have always been there for me. Sometimes I think I lean on them more now than I did when I was young. Same goes for my husband. His parents are good people who do anything they can to take care of him. Now that we are married our parents work hard to do what they can for the both of us. But it seems we have both reached a point in our lives where we are forced to switch roles. We are now left to be the rock that holds our families together.

Family Health Problems

A couple of weeks ago we received news that my father in law was in need of a valve replacement. This requires open heart surgery. When you tell people this the first thing most people say is “a surgery such as this is routine nowadays. Everything will be fine”. And I know in my head this is true, but my brain then goes a step further to know the fact that any surgery can be dangerous. Well yesterday the surgery occurred. My husband and I signed on to be the family drivers. We drove both of my in-laws and my brother in law into Manhattan at 4:30 am. We knew ahead of time it would be a long day but we had no idea. (as a side note and a story for another time, my mother survived a brain aneurysm 3 years ago and I spend every day for 3 weeks in the ICU with her. I was prepared for some flashbacks and knew a bit of what to expect from major surgery)

Throughout the day I felt it was my job to keep conversation light in order to keep my mother in laws mind from focusing on what was going on (although I am sure I failed, since how could one not think too much). My husband is a rock, and I knew that my efforts would be wasted on him. I tell him he’s an emotional wasteland, but I know in this situation his heart is hurting for his dad.

After over 7 hours we received news that he made it through the surgery. It was wonderful news and we all were relieved. Recovery is a long road in any surgery, especially ones such as this. My heart aches because it is hard to see loved ones in so much pain. Now in the coming weeks my husband and I will have to play the caregiver role and not only help his father, but his mother who will both need emotional support. I am sure a lot of that task will be left to me since women are much better at taking care of emotional needs then men are. I am prepared for the task (I think).

Adult Ponderings

I am left to wonder, is this supposed to happen? I know there is a lot of sad things that people go through in their lives, at all ages, but I have to be honest, I never believed that I would be faced with such things in my late 20′s. I know that’s naive. I am aware that anything can happen to anyone at any time. I guess I just wished that it wouldn’t happen to me. Parents are supposed to be invincible aren’t they? Well, over the past couple of years I have learned firsthand that they are not. Now it is time for me to step up and repay them for the years they took care of me. Sometimes I believe the “tough love” approach will be necessary, but I am ready to do anything to make sure they are there to see their grandchildren grow up. It is time for me to be the grown up.

IF YOU HAD ALL THE MONEY YOU NEEDED, AND YOU COULD ONLY PICK ONE, WHICH PAID STAFF/PERSON WOULD YOU HIRE?

A few examples would be a personal chef to cook your meals, a maid to clean your house, a driver to take you where you need to go. I am very curious to hear what you would choose and why.

A Driver

Personally, as of right now, at this point in my life, I would choose a driver. I know, it sounds ridiculous, but for those of you who know me personally I have many an issue with transportation. I hate the train, I hate not being able to leave a place when I want to, but I also hate being the sober driver when we are out. Not to mention the fact that my family lives in PA and it would be wonderful to hit the belt parkway in the comforts of the backseat of a town car! (A little side note..the belt parkway is a hellish road that is constantly backed up with traffic!)

I am pretty positive that once I have children that my priorities would change. Days of worrying about transportation to and from the bars will be a thing of the past. At that time I am sure that I would choose a maid. That would be my second choice. With kids running around and the activities that come with being a mom, I would be left to believe that a spic and span house would not be a number one priority.

So ladies please share! I’m curious to know what you all would choose!