I used to be that Mom.

"I used to be that Mom."

That thought popped into my mind when my daughter brought home this super cute softball bow that another mom at the school had so generously made for the entire team. I hope she doesn't mind me sharing her work. :-)

In reality I still am that mom, just not lately.  My husband was unexpectedly laid off last February.  It rocked our world.  I tried my best not to complain because I know people going through much worse.  There IS much worse.  But just allow me one moment to say that it still really sucked.  Only close family and friends caught glimpses of me on my bad days especially since I have a tendency to withdraw when I'm stressed.  But in God's divine timing and faithfulness and through the constant prayers of family, friends, teachers, classmates and colleagues my husband is now working for a company that he really likes...something I haven't heard in a long time. I'm so incredibly thankful.  If I were a tattoo-getting sort of person, I would get one that just said "2018" so I wouldn't forget.  I still may get a piece of engraved jewelry so that I never forget the year...for God's provision, for our ability to weather the storm, for it teaching us things we didn't think we could do or didn't realized we needed to know.

So what else did that bow make me think of?  It made me realize how much I appreciated that crafty mom.  She did something that, in the past, would have been something I would have done. But to put it in my teenager's words, I just haven't felt like being extra lately.  And I love extra.  It also made me think of Mommy Wars.  Oh how I HATE Mommy Wars--the working moms vs the SAHM (stay at home moms), the Pinterest moms vs the moms that roll their eyes at all that "fluff".  Can we just stop? Let's just stop it all. (And yes, I've been guilty of this too.) Instead let's simply embrace the gifts God has given each of us and celebrate and appreciate the gifts God has given others.  Some are crafty and love to spread happiness through the things they create. Just let them.  It brings them joy to give joy. Some have the ability and desire to pay for supplies or food.  So appreciated! Some are happy to be worker bees.  Yay for help! Some have full plates.  Yep, I get it.

So the next time you see a mom get all Pinteresty, try not to be annoyed or jealous, just give her a "thank you so much". Because, even if you didn't, there's a mom somewhere that needed that mom to be that person.

Now, as for 2019...I hope it's an amazingly crafty year for me!  I want to be extra again.

Angela