A Mother's Tears

A friend saw a photo of my boys the other day and couldn't believe my youngest was standing (with assistance) in the photo. She commented, "how can he be standing??? He was just born like a minute ago." To her disbelief, I answered, "he is 7 months old already." SEVEN MONTHS OLD ALREADY!!!

How can this be? My baby boy is growing up so fast before my eyes. As he fell asleep in my arms tonight, I found myself tearing up as I gazed down upon him and thought about how fast it is all going by. I am not the kind of person that cries easily and it was not a sobbing kind of a cry, more like a couple of tears that ran down my cheeks. Just enough to sadden me and make me sigh.

I feel myself trying to capture more moments with all of my children because they are growing up so fast, but, with my baby, it is more bittersweet, only simply for the fact that this is my last child. The last one I will hold, the last one I will rock to sleep, and the last one I will watch grow up. Sigh.........

I just celebrated my first Mother's Day with all three of my beautiful boys and it's funny to have a day set aside to honor this bond we share. Not a day goes by that I don't feel honored to be given these wonderful little people that I get to love and raise.

There have been a few people that have touched my heart, but my children have touched my soul. I have made it a habit to catch as many precious moments every day as I can with them and the satisfaction I feel from it is the greatest gift of motherhood. So, there will be more tears of sadness, but, plenty from joy as well.

Catch Me If You Can...9/11/01 - 5/1/11

The last (almost) ten years since 9/11 have been like lighting a fire and watching it slowly burn out....So much rage, anger, fear, sadness, senselessness, sorrow. We were suddenly flooded with so many overwhelming emotions because of such a horrific and inconceivable chain of events. That day wounded our nation, bruised our egos, and scarred our hearts, but, we slowly picked ourselves back up, promised to never forget, and vowed to avenge....someday.

Then, to our surprise, that day came......The Internet, televisions, cell phones, social networks, they all came alive, and, like a wild fire, an unexpected announcement that would stir us all up again, was spread out over the air waves.

The enemy, the monster, the villain, the one man whose name instantly rattled our chains, Usama Bin Laden, was found and killed by our Navy Seals. Just like that, it was over. He was dead. Justice had been served. Our military accomplished, what seemed to be, an impossible mission, for us...for payback...for closure.

I don't know how I feel. My reaction is to rejoice but I know it's not over. I have so much faith in our military, and, if you mess with the USA, well, it may take a matter of time, but, you will not get away with it. However, terrorists breathe in hate the same way we breathe in hope. So, the hope I am feeling now that we are a little safer and stronger as a result of Bin Laden's death, is not so naive as to think that this news is not fueling a fire in a distant land with his supporters who will pick up the reigns and wage their next battle with us.

For now, however, I have decided to keep my mind wrapped around these thoughts:

-The Navy Seal Team Six are AMAZING! They are such an elite group of highly trained soldiers who act out these missions like superheroes to us, but, to them, it's just their job. AMAZING.

-Bin Laden is gone! I will not believe or even entertain any conspiracy theories, rumor mills, gossip, etc...I have no morbid curiosity to see his death photos, I do not doubt what the government has released about the events as they unfolded, and I accept whatever decisions were made as to how and why they killed and disposed of him.

-I am deeply saddened but not surprised as to how people have ignited this as a political issue. I will not solely praise or discredit our president for this and our republican or democratic beliefs should not surface over this. FACT: He is our Commander-in-Chief. He oversees our military and he authorized the kill. FACT: The Navy Seals were assigned this mission and their mission was accomplished. It should not be interpreted any other way and we should not be nit picking right now over who deserves the most credit. They all do and everyone else involved in this chain of command. This extraordinary day should not be a time to remind others that we are all Americans, and, patriotism is a devotion to one's country for no other reason than being a citizen of that country. Appreciate our government AND our military who worked together on this for our nation that we all share.

Last but certainly not least, my thoughts and prayers go out to all of the families and friends of our victims from 9/11. I know this will never bring their loved ones back or even begin to erase their loss, but, I hope this extraordinary announcement brings them some sense of peace tonight.