Tuesday, August 4, 2009

For Shelli~ As She Keeps On Keeping On!

I read this post Spilled Milk and Frozen Chicken, from my sweet, young friend, Shelli, this morning and wanted to re-post one I did awhile back as my reply to her. Shelli is working nights and tending her tiny baby during the day. You are amazing you very much!


Punch Toys From Days Gone By

When I was a child there were these toys called punch or bop toys. Usually they were 24 to 36 inches tall and they were made of heavy vinyl. Often they had a picture of a clown on them but not always. The toy was filled with air and then they put some sand in the bottom to make it heavier than the other end. Then you could punch the daylights out of it and it would continually pop back up to the upright position. Now flash forward a few decades.

Recently I have read posts on favorite blogs written by mothers and the horrendous days they have had with their kids. My friend Laura writes about Finger Painting with Ranch. Just the other day I read this one from Vanessa called I Knew Going In. All three of the links to these young mothers' post are worth reading if you get a chance!) We have all had these experiences~different scenarios but the same feelings of exhaustion, desperation, and discouragement.

Although these things seem funny to the rest of us looking in and also maybe even to these young moms after a good night's sleep or two, I think these experiences speak volumes about the amazing character of these great mothers and women. Now I know the same is true of men. But for today I am just talking about women, motherhood, commitment and love.

Women have an uncanny ability to just keep coming back for more and that is what I was thinking about with regards to the punch toys. For me that visual image of getting knocked over and popping right back up is pretty analogous to what moms do every single day. I believe these types of experiences in addition to all the joyous ones, drive the level of love and commitment deeper and deeper into our character every time we pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and keep on going. It takes an incredibly healthy, strong, and loving person to do it and that is one of the reasons I love young moms so much. When I watch our daughters, Jen, Laura, and now Missy, go about their regular days I am totally in awe. They do so much, tirelessly serving their families and working to raise these outstanding little people. I honestly don't know how they do it and I cannot even imagine that I once did it too. That is the beauty of the trials and tribulations of the daily routine...they seem to fade like the memories of labor and delivery. And one day all you remember is the love you feel for your kids and how you don't know where you end and they begin. So take heart, my little sisters~its all good in the long run. One day at a time~you are all amazing!


7 comments:

Connie said...

Oh, I loved that analogy, Bon! I can use that in my life today... I may not be a young mom, but I am an old tired one who goes down easier and gets up slower, for sure. Thanks for taking the time to reach out to my Shelli girl. She is truly amazing!
I love you, my friend!!!

Laura said...

Thanks for your love and encouragement. You are such an inspiration with your kind words!

mandy* said...

Almost every time I am tired and cranky I think, "Why do I feel like this??" Then I remember all of the things I do each day and think, "Oh yeah..."

Laura said...

Thanks for this post. It speaks to my soul. :)

Shelli Snyder said...

Oh, Bon ... you're so good. Thank you for your words. I admit, I cried as I read this at my desk. At least none of my co-workers saw. :)

Nellie's Cozy Place said...

Morning Bonnie,
So We are both looking for cameras now!! In the pool huh!! that does wonders for a camera. I dropped mine right on it's face, so it smashed in the thingy that pops out when you open it. It sounded sort of pitiful lying there making a funny sound because it was trying to close or open but couldn't!! May it rest in peace,
we took it's batteries out!! ha

Glad you got all your windows ordered. Have you actually started to tear anything out in there yet??? Oh what fun!! That is sarcasm of course!! ha
Once we finish the tiling then I
will do the dressing room area, but just decided to wait so I don't have too much torn up at once, but then I am thinking maybe I should go ahead and get started
so that way we would have it done
before the holidays start. I will have to ponder that thought since it is new this morning.
Well, you have a really great day.
Love and Blessings, Nellie

Marie Rayner said...

Great analogy Bon! I always love your posts as they make me think and bring back some happy memories for me. Time and distance has helped any sad ones to fade away, with time.
XXOO Hope you are having a wonderful day!