Family says

After Emma bites me AGAIN. 

(My) Mom: Do you know the biting technique? 
Me: For when she bites me?
Mom: Yes, do you know how to get her to stop biting? 
Me: You bite her back? 
Mom:
(My) Sister: HAHAHAHAHAHA
Me: No? 
Mom:
Mom: You push her head into the bite. It's a Special Ed technique.
Demonstrates pushing the back of her head into her own arm. 
Me: Paul, did you know that?
Paul: Yeah. It's the same thing you do when a crocodile bites you. Completely serious. 
Me:
Sister:
Mom: Yeah, same thing.

Emma badger does not care.

Be kind

Just a few words for you on a Saturday. Have a wonderful weekend! 

Perfectly imperfect

Call it dental student/motherhood/wife angsty stress, but occasionally (read, frequently) I feel at my whit's end and start to question myself. I know, so weird. But like many of you folks (especially new parents) out there on the interwebs, I sometimes feel inadequate in my various duties and responsibilities as future dentist, wife, and mother. I do not feel like I have my sh*t together and I definitely feel like I am failing on many fronts (and backs and sides for that matter). But when I finally pull my head out of my pint of pity party, I realize the truth of it all.

I am not the highest producer at school, I am not winning any mother-of-the-year awards, and Mrs. Snaps-at-her-husband rears her ugly head at times. But I am my whole perfectly imperfect self, cracks and all. And hey, that's good enough.

Conversations with strangers

Here is a little conversation we had with a couple sitting near us at dinner the other night. 

Them: Oh your baby is so cute!

Us: Why, thank you, you’re so sweet.

Them: We are expecting our first, she is seven months along, we are also having a girl!

Us: How exciting! Little girls are wonderful.

Them: What is your little one’s name?

Us: Emma

Them: What a beautiful name, we are naming ours Stella.

Us: That is so sweet.

Future dad: Is it scary? Were you scared?

Paul: Not scared, but nervous. I didn’t do any research ahead of time, but I figured it out as I went.

Future dad: Oh right, nervous, that’s the word. I am nervous. 

Us: It is nerve wracking, but amazing.

Them: Well God bless you three.

Us: And many blessings to you too.

image

Paul and I talk to strangers. And we talk a lot.

It is something that each of us have done independently our whole lives and something we do as a couple as well (peas in a pod). Don’t get me wrong, sometimes I am in one of those moods where the headphones go in and I want a completely conversation-free bus ride. Usually Monday mornings.

But I enjoy meeting people anywhere and everywhere. We have chatted with a young transplant from the Czech Republic here on a work visa. We met a family visiting from Brazil and had fun making Emma laugh. We get restaurant recommendations, we give directions, we say hello, and we smile. I ask questions and I make connections. 

Although you won’t find me chatting about the weather alone in a dark alley, I am always one to stop and chat with a stranger. I find out about a piece of their lives and they find out a piece of mine. In a city with a zillion people, we have a moment of connection.

I hope Emma sees Paul and I connecting with people from all walks of life. I want her to be confident and outspoken as well as kind and open towards others. We are not meant to walk this earth alone. 

So I challenge you to say hello to that woman on the bus or that man tapping his foot on the bench or that family who looks like they are from out of town.

Who knows, it could lead to something great. 

Be Still

As this year comes to a close, I am filled with an overwhelming sense of urgency. There are things to get done, traveling to do, and lists to check off. The hum of the season, while full of joy and energy, is often elevated to one of chaos. Today, I am trying to remind myself to slow down and remember to meditate on a sense of peace that the season brings. While 2014 is nearly over, I know 2015 will bring its own share of blessings. I will remind myself to be still, calm my spirit, and take the time to center myself. 

How do you deal with the hustle and bustle of the season? Do you thrive on the energy or are you drained by it?