My Life's Lessons from 2008

- When two pre-school aged males are laughing hysterically in another room, RUN. When you get there, take a deep breath. In a few days, you too may find what they were laughing at as funny.

- When someone offers you hand-me-downs, always ask if these clothes are expected to be returned. The STORM rarely is capable of passing clothes to one another, much less keeping them in good enough condition to give back when finished.

- When a good girlfriend calls and wants to meet at the park, but your house is a total wreck, go ahead and go. The laughs you two will share, plus the energy your children will release in the fresh air, will rejuvenate you enough to get home and tackle the huge mess. Your kids will probably take a longer nap, leaving you more time to relax after you're done with the yucky chores.

- When your husband calls you unexpectedly and suddenly becomes a chatter box while you're up to your elbows in poop (literally) don't rush him off the phone. Just enjoy the fact that you can multi-task better than a CEO of a Fortune 500.

- When a neighbor offers to babysit so you can take a shower, let her. You'll both feel better for it.

- When your daughter says, "Momma, come swing with me." Go do it. You'll never forget the fun stories that get told while swinging.

- When your two year old son says, "Will you rock me a widdle bit?" Squeeze him extra tight and let the laundry wait. In the blink of an eye, he will be four years old, and insulted at the offer to be held is such a way. He will express this by saying, "I'm not a baby!"

- When any of your children ask you to lay down with them at bedtime, do. Tell them fun stories of when you were growing up until you both fall asleep in that tiny bed together. The crick in your neck will only last a few hours the next day, but you'll have the memory forever. And so will your children.

- When your husband says "I'm sorry." don't hold a grudge. You picked him for a reason, even if you feel you've had to remind yourself of that reason a lot here lately. He too feels stressed about all these little kids, plus 84,000 other things that he conveniently forgets to tell you about, so cut him some slack. He is a great guy, and you love him dearly.

- When strangers stop and make a fuss over how beautiful your children are and want to share child-rearing advice, smile and pretend you're listening. You may just walk away with a bit of info that's actually useful. Probably not, but remember, advice from others is their way of correcting the past.

- Even when you have a 15 month old crying at your feet, a 2 year old throwing a tantrum because he wants candy before breakfast, a 4 year old screaming from the bathroom that he's "finished" (so, please come wipe my hiney) and a 5 year old drama queen fussing because you forgot to wash her favorite pink dress to wear that day to school, all while your husband is complaining that he has no clean socks in his drawer, take a moment to look around and think to yourself, "Even during all of this, would I rather be ANYWHERE else?" Most days that answer will be NO. Okay, and if the answer is yes, go ahead and tell your husband to work from home that day because it's not even 8am and if you aren't feeling up to the challenge, you may have to "pop the cork" a little early. Once the buzz has worn off, try to start the day over again.


- When GOD has been good to you, tell everyone you know. You never know who is having a moment of doubt and could use the encouragement.


GOD has been WONDERFUL to me this year. Thank-you, GOD. My girlfriends are the best. My parents are still my #1 fans. My siblings are four of my dearest friends. My children are healthy. My husband makes me happy. What more could a girl ask for? On to 2009...