Stretchy pants, lost sanity, & being uncool.

As a Mom do you ever find yourself having one of THOSE days. Ya know, where you’re like, “What happened to me?” “When did I get this boring and stop being cool?!” Or “Am I always going to be this grouchy, stretchy pant wearing monster?!”

If you’ve never asked yourself these things or atleast something close to it then this blog post is not for you…..

If you are sitting there saying something along the lines of, “Preach it!” “Heck yes!!!” or contemplating if we are the same person then this one is for you.

LISTEN UP!!

If no one has told you today allow me to let you know you are beautiful with your dirty hair, make up free face, and abused stretchy waisted pants. You are one in a million and I along with my mom bun, make up free face, and thoroughly abused yoga pants are cheering you on.

I sometimes think back to all the things I had planned for myself (feel free to giggle, we all know planning doesn’t amount to much but a hill of beans….) and I am like, “What happened and where did my cool go?”

Beach trips? Clear and tan skin? Thin waist line? Perfect {clean} shiny hair? Late nights with laughs until early in the morning? Man, I used to be fun!! Yea I traded all that in for the trips to the grocery store, ghostly pale complexion that makes people ask if I am ill without make up, I rock serious curves thanks to child birth, and my late nights are filled with someone yelling “MOMMMMMM!” And me praying for my sanity sometimes while in tears.

I used to have a pretty cool and unusual job, extra spending money, and well my sanity. Thennnnnnnn I became a mom.

But fact of the matter is there is no job like this one.
Not everyone is cut out or this lifestyle and that’s okay!

You were blessed with those babies because God needed a mother for them who can handle their sass, stubbornness, and meet their needs. You have selflessly taken on the role to bring the next generation up and while you may feel overwhelmed today you know dang well you wouldn’t trade it for the world!

Those babies, they think you’re cool, perfect, beautiful, amazing…. The list goes on and on in their eyes because you are all they know Momma. That curvy body comforts them while your tired eyes see all their worth. One day those long nights will fade away and believe it or not we will miss these moments of chaos and being uncool.

This world is harsh enough don’t be so hard on yourself. Love you for all that you are and appreciate these days before they change again to the next season of life. Don’t miss out because you were too caught up in what shouldn’t matter.

XO Chey

One’s impact on the rest

Everyone has those days on the calendar they wish they could skip. The days you try to hold back tears when the happiest of memories come to mind because those memories bring a sadness. It’s a whirl wind of emotions that tends to take your breath away.

Today is one of those days for me. 7 years ago I lost someone who was a HUGE part of my life.

10 years ago I was 17 sitting in a recruiters office thinking I had it all figured out. I made friends with a quiet 16 year old who was training with them a full year before he could have his parents sign for him to enlist. We became very close and our relationship grew tremendously while we were trying to figure out who we were and where we were going in this big world. From letters sent back and fourth while I was in South Carolina to him leaving for Georgia and both of us coming back home. Trips to the local amusement park, hockey games, the beach, late nights with groups of our friends and family events. We may have eventually grown apart but we still checked in from time to time with one another. It had only been a few weeks since I had talked to him and I had a hard time processing the news he was taken too soon. He was only 19 years old on his way to answer someone else’s call for help when he was in a car accident and called home.

I am now 27, married, and a mother but I will tell you the impression made on me by a person so young has stuck. It has helped mold me into the wife I am and I am striving to be, the mother I am, and the overall person I am today. It’s why I do not take people for granted and my family comes first. The lessons I had absolutely no idea I was learning all those years ago have come out later on in my life and I just grin and send up a silent prayer of gratitude for all those years ago and the time spent with Brandon.

Do not ever underestimate yourself because of your age or think you can’t make a difference for someone else because you haven’t “lived” life long enough. My greatest influence went to Heaven to make it a brighter place at just 19 and if you could see the amount of people he has brought together you’d be absolutely blown away.

In this day and age so many people walk around feeling they are less than, or not good enough, and question their purpose in the world. What you aren’t seeing is the person who needs you, the person you probably least suspect is going to be influenced by your presence – maybe not right now but one day it will all make sense. You deserve to live your life to the fullest, don’t take things so seriously, talk to someone when you need to or you’re feeling down. I know it isn’t always that easy but I promise it’s worth it. YOU are worth it. Today tell someone you love them, thank someone for being your rock, and hug your loved ones a bit tighter.

XO Chey

Seasons Change

Time changes things, as does life events.

I can not tell you how many times I have had the conversation with my Mom or husband about how much things have changed and I didn’t even realize it. From friends, to life milestones, and even relationships with family members!! You don’t necessarily mean to put time and distance between those you love it just sort of happens and often before you realize it weeks or months have gone by.

My Mom once told me that sometimes people find themselves in different seasons in life and occasionally with some time you might find yourselves sharing a season again. Just like the leaves change with the season so do friendships and it’s a completely taboo thing that no one seems to discuss. I get it, sometimes you’re thinking to yourself “What the heck is wrong with me that I don’t hear from so and so anymore or why didn’t I get invited to do {fill in the blank} I am guilty of being down on myself thinking I said or did something wrong but the truth is, its totally okay to not be in the exact same place as your bestie from high school or maybe the person you were in college isn’t the same as you are as a spouse or parent and so you have less in common with your old friend right now. That’s normal and doesn’t mean you did anything wrong. People grow and develop their ENTIRE lives so how one person grows may not be how the next person grows and develops.

Maybe you are at that point in your life where you are married and building a family but your BFF is single and just not on the same lifetime movie moment you are. Maybe you are the type to stay in (Not judging, this is totally me!) and the people you were once super close with still go out every weekend. There is nothing wrong with being either way- some people are just at a different time in their life and maybe in 5 years you will find yourself both cheering your kids on running their little legs off around baseball plates sitting side by side on the same bleacher. Or maybe you and your spouse are out to dinner and run into another couple and you just pick up like it hadn’t been two years since you spent time together.

The point is, you never know what will happen, don’t assume you will stay on the exact same path as everyone you spent the last few years with because things change, seasons change, and life changes EVERYTHING. However do not just assume because there’s been time or distance between you and someone else that it’s a lost relationship. It’s absolutely okay to be “different” and have your own thing going on! It’s just how life works.

To my friends in other seasons, I see you, I love you and I will always be around!

{Probably on the couch and binging some girly something or another ignoring the 500,000 toys in my living room} 😉

XO Chey