Happy Mother’s Day, Mom!  I love you!

I thought this post might be the perfect Mother’s Day gift–for those of you “done” being parents (are you ever really done?), for those of you in the throes of parenthood, or for those of you who do not have kids.  Did I wrangle everyone up?

Imagine: you’re in a situation where something unexpected hits you (unemployment, loss of a loved one, recovery from an accident or surgery, a child, infertility, stress at work or home, marital problems, etc.).  You feel like you’re at the collision end of a bowling alley.  You start projecting how much time this will take and when can we be done with this. It’s something huge, though, and it’s going to take a while.

And that’s when it hits you.  The interruption is life.  That’s what life is.

This tug, this change, this slowing down must be accepted…and entertained…and might I suggest…lived in?

But WHY?  When all this time is a-wastin’?

I’ve felt all the above, being a mom.  Yeah.  I’ll admit it.  I rant, I rave, I cry, I struggle, I fight against all I’ve lost, all I still have to do.

Then I come back to the fact that life comes in stages–all beautiful…and needed–to grow me.

Clara, my friend who just came back from Haiti recently, and who is off to Ghana next week, sent me this link to NPR’s interview of Emily and Martie of the Dixie Chicks, and said, “This made me think of you.”  She’s right.  I’ve thought all these things and more, and I’ve decided finally, like Emily and Martie, that I can choose my own life, and show Liliana how to do it–as opposed to dropping everything just for her, so she never gets to be involved.

Emily and Martie have struck out on their own, without lead singer Natalie Maines, to form Court Yard Hounds.  This is their song “Fear of Wasted Time.”

And if you’re anything like me, you might find it refreshing to speak the truth, then get on with it.

[Post image: Martie Maguire and Emily Robison, the instrumental heart of Dixie Chicks, have struck out on their own as Court Yard Hounds]