The Best Day of My Life.

Yesterday was a day I wasn't always sure would happen. A day that I have envisioned and dreamed about for some time, but which was not a certainty. What would happen, if it did occur? What would it feel like?

Well, the day I have dreamed of for a couple of years now has finally arrived. I am Anna's legal parent. So is Heidi.  Yesterday, Heidi and I adopted her, and so the law has officially caught up with the reality that we are Anna's parents. Needless to say, we are both thrilled.

Family photo, June 2012

It's a Dead Giveaway...

I just came across this article about how obvious we parents are even when we're not trying to be.  From our tones of voice to the contents of our purses to the random stickers we find on our bodies or clothes, we can be easily identified.

For your entertainment, check out this article I found on "The Stir" at cafemom.com, entitled "Ten Ways Anyone Can Tell You're a Mom." I'm betting at least one or two will apply to you!

She got me!

Follow-up: Brad and Angelina, Shrek and Fiona

One thing I want to start doing on the blog is following up on earlier pieces when the same or related issues come up later, as is often the case. For example, you may recall my piece on why marriage matters to kids, "If It's Good Enough for Brad and Angelina...".

In that post, I discussed the famous couple's initial commitment not to marry until marriage is legal for everyone, which they apparently (and understandably) considered revisiting when their kids expressed an interest in having married parents. I explained the intangibles, the feeling and the status conferred by the word "marriage," and how that impacts children, regardless of who their parents are.

Photo by Eric Ryan/ Getty Images

Happy 40th Anniversary!

Today is a special day: it's my parents' 40th wedding anniversary!  I just wanted to take a moment to commemorate that because these days, that kind of staying power is hard to find.

My parents have always been good role models of what it means to be committed to your marriage and your family.  Like everyone, they've had their trials and problems along the way, but instead of letting it tear down their strong foundation, they let it build that foundation up further.  Through good and bad times, happy times and tough ones, illness and stress and joy, they've stayed together. I hope I am blessed to have the same success in my relationship.

So, Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad!  I am proud of you and I love you!

Since you don't want me to post pics of you, instead, you get this anniversary greeting!

Imperfectly

“I'm okay, if you get me at a good angle
and you're okay, in the right sort of light
and we don't look like pages from a magazine
but that's all right - that's all right.”

--“Imperfectly,” Ani DiFranco

Single Dad Laughing (SDL) has done it again: he has shared a blog post that really challenged me and forced me to take a good hard look at things. I think you should too.

I have LOTS of imperfections!

He recently commemorated the one-year anniversary of one of his most important and most widely read posts, “The Disease Called Perfection.”  I had read it a long time ago but decided to do so again. I’m glad I did. And I recommend that you do the same. You can read the original post here, and then check out his anniversary follow-up here.

Multitasking: It Ain't What It Used to Be

It was Friday afternoon, around 3:30. I had been gone all morning for Kelsey’s honors program orientation at college. 

Anna and I sat in the waiting room while the “car guy” was changing my oil and looking into an issue with my check engine light.  Normally, this would be sheer playtime with Anna, but noooo. Not this time.

Worrywart!

There are no worries like those that you have about your child.  Now, I’ve always had a predisposition for anxiety. I’m not just anxious about big things, but I’m also overly concerned about stupid little things. I am also restless and tense and wander around the house puttering when I can.

For example, tonight Anna has already fallen asleep and I am alone with her and my dog and cat and my thoughts for the evening. And now that I have the “me” time I occasionally, secretly crave….I really don’t know what to do with myself. So, instead of pacing around and cleaning, I decided to write – sorry to take my restlessness out on you in the cyber world!

Thank You!

I just wanted to take a moment to send a shout-out to all of my friends and family who’ve been so supportive of this blog, and especially to all our readers so far!  Subtracting the 3 posts that aren’t really posts (such as the privacy policy), this is substantive post #50. I feel really great about that. 

I have been doing this for less than 2 months and have been working hard to create material that is engaging, heartwarming, at times humorous, and also thought-provoking.  Anna is my major source of inspiration, but I also draw so much from the comments I get from readers, and I really appreciate everyone who has taken the time to contribute feedback and comments on the posts. I really do want this blog to be informative and interesting as well as entertaining.  Generating a dialogue and developing a community of parents who can support and advise each other is important to me. Thank you all for participating!

Happy Father's Day!

Just wanted to wish a Happy Father's Day to all of you wonderful dads out there!  I learned a lot about being a parent from my own dad, who has always provided a little extra humor for our family, has kept up an optimistic spirit despite all the obstacles life may have thrown at him, and has always believed that his kids could be whatever we wanted to be as long as we put our minds to it.

The Wrong Signals

“Don’t be insecure if your heart is pure,

You’re still good to me if you’re a bad kid, baby.”  - Lady Gaga

Ok, I realize not all of you are Gaga fans, but hear me out.  The above quote is from “Bad Kids,” one of the songs on her new release, Born This Way.  It’s a song worth listening to, but even if it’s not your style, the song does contain a message from which all parents can learn.

Because I Said So!

“Because I said so!” I said sternly to Anna, then stood quietly in shock. There they were, those words I so hated as a child, coming out of my mouth. I leaned against the doorframe as a frightening question loomed large in my mind: had I turned into – gasp! – my mother??

I instantly forgot about whatever it was that I was trying to explain.