Maintaining friendships after parenthood is hard. Most parents will agree.
But I always kind of had a hard time keeping up with others even before I had a baby. I have always been more introverted, and I can’t really think of a time in my life where I truly felt like I had a “best friend.” Sure, I had people I trusted, hung out with, and considered more than a simple acquaintance, but I never really felt a connection deep enough to where I felt totally comfortable and completely understood.
A short time ago, I had an old high school friend message me and ask how the baby and I were. I hadn’t heard from this friend in quite a while. I will admit, I was being petty about her not coming to visit me like I feel a good friend should. After all, she lives a county away from me. When she messaged me, I was busy doing whatever thing I had on my list of things to do as a working mom, so I gave her a simple: “We’re good.”
I didn’t mean anything negative by it. I was just … BUSY! So she ended up getting upset about how she tries to keep up with me now that I have a baby and that all I do is shut her out. I can see where she is coming from. In all honesty, I will probably always be the type to keep my distance when it comes to outsiders. I like friendship and I do believe that healthy relationships are important, I just no longer have the time to put a bunch of effort into people that aren’t making an actual, solid attempt to see me. You can make every excuse under the sun as to why you don’t go visit someone, but when it comes down to it… it just shows that you don’t actually care that much. And I told her just that.
How much you care is how much you try.
On the other hand, I had a friend that actually put in a great deal of effort to see me and meet my daughter for the first time. When I first got out of high school, I headed straight to Eastern Illinois University. There I met a girl named Tiffany. Now, we both only went to school there for one semester, but we were thick as thieves. We would run out to my car and smoke cigarettes, go to the frat houses, and hang out in our dorm rooms. All college fun… but that wasfour years ago.We never lost touch.
Tiffany and I while in college
Tiffany and I this past weekend
I actually met up with Tiff in Chicago about a year ago, and then this past weekend she made the four hour trek to come visit me and meet my daughter.
I’d say that is a helluva lot more effort than most people give.
And we had only seen one another one time in the last four years.
My point of this isn’t to bitch about the people that aren’t putting effort into relationships.
My point is…The people that care, will show up.
It doesn’t matter if you only knew them for a total of four months.
It doesn’t matter if you haven’t seen them in years.
When I read blogs, the things that excite me the most are those that write with emotion and display positivity. All of the above writers have amazing posts on a variety of topics. Mental health, testimonies, personal stories… Thank you for reminding me why I love my blog family here on WordPress.
Go give these blogs a follow! I promise you won’t regret it! đź’ť
Know of an interesting blog I should follow? Drop a link in the comments! 👇🏻👇🏻
Today is already DAY 7 of the June Blogging Challenge!! Today’s prompt is one that is often asked:
If you could have one superpower, what would it be?
Okay, I don’t think I have ever swayed on what superpower I would choose if we were ever offered the opportunity to get one.
I want to FLY! I honestly don’t need the ability to walk through walls or be super strong, but I would LOVE to soar through the air feeling the wind in my hair! I would fly with the birds and flow with the treetops. I would look down on big cities, cornfields, ball fields, and racetracks. I don’t think I would ever come down.
Day FIVE of my June Blogging Challenge! Today’s prompt is very simple.
Home.
I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure what to think of today’s prompt. Home. What about home? Is it asking where I live? Does it want pictures of my house? I decided I’d go with something a little less boring……. Maybe.
I live in midwestern Illinois in a small town called Mount Sterling. There are two stoplights and three gas stations. That is where I call HOME. But that isn’t very fun to talk about. Instead, I’d rather talk about where else FEELS like home.
We all have places where we feel the most comfortable. Places where all worries cease to exist and we can let our souls free. This could be at grandma’s house, or even with a certain person.
I just love being in the trees, breathing in the fresh air. I love cooking over an open flame. I love playing cards at night with the campfire as our only source of light. It’s just an all-around homey feel for me. The rain needs to go away so we can get out and camp soon!!
Della & me at our home
Another thing that makes me feel at home is holding my sweet girl. There is just something about holding your child that makes your walls collapse and nothing else matters. She has stolen my heart! It seems that every time I leave her, something within me is just missing up until the second I see her again. I often wonder if that will ever go away. I doubt it.
Where do you feel at home? Is there anyone in your life that makes you feel at home?
Ahh! Good morning, bloggers! It is Day 4 of my June Blogging Challenge!! Today’s prompt is:
SOMETHING/SOMEONE THAT MAKES YOU HAPPY
This one is so easy for me! In January I gave birth to my first child, Della Rae. Being a mom makes me SO happy, so today’s prompt is a no-brainer.
Della Rae was born at 1:56pm on January 5th, 2019 at 7 lbs 10.5 oz. I gave birth via c-section (What a scary experience!). She was born with a head full of hair. This is her when we were still at the hospital:
This past Saturday Della turned five months old. Read The Last Five Months for more about how the last five months with my daughter has changed my life.
Della recently laughed for the VERY first time (see the above video). Until you have a child, you probably don’t truly understand how amazing small milestones like that are.
In all honesty, babies are kind of boring. For the first few months of life, they don’t do much but cry, poop, and eat, so you find yourself waiting imipatiently for them to do the next cool thing like smile, roll over, laugh, or crawl. But once they get the hang of tiny feats like that, you’re back to square one: waiting for the next cool milestone. I, of course, don’t much mind the wait. I love watching her grow and learn new things. She will be six months old next month and then the race is on! She will change SOOO much within the next six months, and I am READY for it!!
Being the mother of Miss Della Rae is the greatest pleasure of my life. Motherhood is a rush of happiness and excitement. What is something/someone that makes you happy??
Sometimes it’s hard to come up with something good to write about. I’ve compiled a list of topics that will get your mind flowin’!
Write a letter to your parents.
If you could spend a day with anyone in the world, past or present, who would it be and why?
Who is your hero? How have they inspired you?
What advice would you give to a younger version of yourself?
If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why?
Rank what you think the most important character traits a person can have from most valuable to least (honesty, happiness, love, commitment, faithfulness, empathy, compassion, forgiving, etc.)
Describe a memory that made you feel alive.
Write a letter to your ex.
Write an apology to someone you might owe it to.
Find a picture that makes you feel happy. Pretend you are describing the picture to someone that can’t see it.
What is your biggest fear and why?
What are your biggest goals in life? How will you reach them?
What is something you would like to confess?
What is your favorite quote? What does it mean to you and how do you apply it to your life?
Write about your biggest fears.
Make a list of all the things that make you smile.
Describe the moment in your life that made you feel the saddest.
If you could be in any TV show, who would your character be and what show?
Describe the things you did in your childhood and who you did them with.
If you could change just one thing in your life, what would it be?
Describe your dream job.
What is one thing you would do if you knew you wouldn’t fail at it?
Write a review for your favorite movie or book.
What are the things that you do for enjoyment or to relax?
Describe what you think someone else sees when they look at you for the first time.
Do you believe in a god? Why or why not?
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be and why?
What is the meaning of success?
What was the moment that made you feel the most accomplished?
Where do you see yourself in ten years?
I hope this list helps you get a good idea of something to write about! If you have some good prompts of your own, drop ’em in the comments!
I just love being in the trees, breathing in the fresh air. I love cooking over an open flame. I love playing cards at night with the campfire as our only source of light. It’s just an all-around homey feel for me. The rain needs to go away so we can get out and camp soon!!
Between the Lens 