A story for you:
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I was at the grocery store. With two kids. The girl was sitting in the grocery cart. The boy was being worn via #ergobaby by yours truly.
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While I was trying to find various items on my grocery list, one lady in particular seemed very annoyed by me–Us, actually– we seemed to constantly be in her way.
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When Esther wanted to talk to a little boy in a neighboring grocery cart and we slowed down so they could chat, that same lady said, "Baby talk later. Some people need to grocery shop here."
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I kid you not.
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There were several more encounters with this woman and a few others that made me feel like well, like, garbage– like the intentional way I was trying to parent was just an inconvenience for everyone around me.
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I felt in the way. I felt judged. I felt as if I was purely an annoyance. As if no one at the store understood what a difficult feat it can be to grocery shop successfully with two kids sans meltdown.
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I was bagging up the groceries, because your girl here shops at #Aldi, and tears started to well up in my eyes.
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My kids were keeping it together really well, honestly. Even though I knew that Essie was hungry and Zeke was tired.
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But I was struggling.
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And then and angel came over to me...
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"Excuse me, I just have to say, you really are #supermom right now. The way you let your daughter help you even though it probably wasn't that helpful to you– that was legit. You are doing a great job. I just wanted to say that."
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The entire time I was at the store, I kept telling myself one of my little mantras: "people over process" – and also that I wasn't just grocery shopping; I was raising my children.
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But even with these mantras that kept me patient and calm and focused on what matters, I really really really really, like, really needed to hear that.
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Sometimes, in a very specific moment, you just need somebody else to notice your work.
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Thank you 🙏🏼
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#peopleoverprocess #groceryshopping #momlife #pouchcaps #rewardsystem #letterboard #elephant #paintandsip #babymom #momoftwo #angel #thankyou #mantras #storytime #babywearing #honesty
My daughter saw me sketching out my design on a canvas and she immediately wanted to paint one too.
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I initially didn't want to "waste" a canvas on a project she would be board of or completely muddle with ten different colors of wet paint, but then I thought better.
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This is one of only 18 summers I will have with my girl under my roof. If that-- we aren't promised tomorrow.
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I chose to make the memory. To make the mess and clean it up. To scrape orange paint from the Tripp-Trap, to wash yellow hands in the too high sink.
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And now I have a sleepy-happy artist-girl asleep on her little bed and this beautiful painting that holds so much more than a 2-year-old's handprints.
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This will be my reminder to choose to make memories with my kids, no matter the effort, cost, mess, or what have you. To encourage art and never think twice about "wasting" supplies on helping them make something or express themselves.
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"You can choose three colors Essie. What colors do you want?"
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"Can we do red?"
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"Yes. What else?"
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"Can we do Orange?"
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"Yes. What is your last choice?"
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"Ummmm. I want yellow like the sunshine."
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"Okay. Good choice."
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#art #artist #artmaking #kidart #handprint #memorymakingmom #choosemess #yestothemess #artistgirl #firecolors #toddlermom
I found this on our walk the other day.
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It made me think deeply for about 5 seconds before I had to grab a child's hand so she wouldn't topple over a crack in the sidewalk.
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I wrote a letter containing what I would tell myself if I could, in my infinite wisdom as a 30-year-old, give some advice to a younger me.
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Spanning across numerous years, the biggest thing I could really say is echoed behind all of the other words... some funny, some serious, but all etched with a kind of love for that silly girl I was and probably always will be.
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It is this: love hard, yes, but include yourself in that love too. You will be okay.
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I promise.
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The link is in my bio--It's a quick read.
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#linkinbio #lettertoself #love #time #letterboards #findings #blogger #writer #blogpost #essay #letter #eternity #article #loveyourself #30something #mommy #claireflorinewrites
This is my life.
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I try to stack all the things into neat little piles, but I need a cuppa caffeine to make it happen.
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Instagram is all millennial pink and my fellow minimalist bloggers are posing against black and white decor. I've got hardwood and patterns and splashes of kitschy color for days.
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I call myself a wannabe minimalist because I don't think minimalism looks just one way. But I am actually not a wannabe anything.
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None of us are "wannabes".
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We are who we are. 100%
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I want to embrace it. Like the laundry I've gotta fold pretty much every day now that I have two messy kiddos, I wanna dive in and get my hands into all of who God made me to be-- even the parts that *STILL* gots that stain no matter how much oxyclean I use.
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I hope y'all get my extended metaphor, and my silly slang.
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"Lord, we know what we are, but not what we may be." But do let's figure it out, darlin', shall we?
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#wannabeminimalist #millennialpink #minimalism #laundry #sahmom #momoflittles #momlife #thisismotherhood #everydayislaundryday #thisisme #thisislife #thisismylife #hamlet #whoiam #embracemyself #embraceyourself #caffeine #cuppacoffee #slang #newslang #pornkillslove #fightthenewdrug #pkl
