Stuff to Do

And a fresh, new start. Thankfully, there are only a couple of errands to run today, and after we drop off C at preschool, we will take care of them. I need to take my receipt from the doctor to the medicare office for the rebate, then go to the grocery store for our fortnightly shop. The rest of the day can be spent here at home, in a state of domesticity that's almost scary. I read the Bible passage today about putting on the full armour of God, and it really resonated with me. Each morning, I need to put on that suit of armour, to be ready for the day. Without it, I am defenseless, and naked. Vulnerable to whatever the world throws at me. I particularly love the imagery of this particular passage, especially as it applies to my life as a stay-at-home wife and mother. Now I've got to dash, as I've got kids to dress, a lunch to pack, and the rest of my armour to put on, and I've left it a bit late. XOXO, Sarah

by being a mother, of course! I think I've been looking at Mother's Day all backwards. See, I thought it would be a day off for me. Free of cleaning, cooking, poopy diaper changing, involving lots of sleeping, drinking cups of tea, putting my feet up while everyone else catered to my every whim. That is not exactly how it happened. What I'm trying to say is that Mother's Day, for me, is about celebrating my family, exactly as they are. Because they're mine, and what a wonderful gift they are to me. :) I wouldn't say no to a nap though... Thank you to my amazing husband who bought me a camping stretcher so I didn't have to sleep on the ground while camping last week. Thank you to my beautiful children, C, P, and M - for giving me so much 'mothering' to do. :) I love you all, and I hope that all you mothers out there have a very special day. XOXO, Sarah

This is the end of the story that explains how I got to here, but it is not the end of my story. Where I go from here is up to me. June 13, 2003 - I receive a response to my personal ad. I was about to cancel the service, as I was in fact dating someone, and while I had a nagging feeling that he wasn't right for me, I thought that perhaps he was as good as I'd get. He treated me well enough, so maybe that was enough. Ironically, that was the exact same mistake I made with my first husband. When I got this email though, I felt as though I had to meet this guy. So we emailed back and forth, and that same day, I agreed to meet him at a local Starbucks coffee shop. I guess I wanted to get it over with quickly - why waste more time getting to know someone online who is altogether different in real life? So we met. And that first meeting lasted like 7 hours. We talked, talked, and talked some more. We talked about our past, we talked about what we wanted in a future, we talked about