Sheer Desperation

Ideas for our family traditions have come from many different sources. Some were from my childhood. I stole a bunch from my sister. There are countless ideas on the internet. But some came from sheer desperation. 

Desperation? Why, yes!

Since before Ida was born, my husband and I knew we were being called to homeschool. I have been a stay-at-home homeschooling mama for sixteen years. That's a whole lot of time being at home with two, and later on three, children. 

Add to that a husband whose job included a lot of travel. A LOT! He'd sometimes be gone for multiple weeks at a time. At one point, he was traveling to Dubai just about monthly. We lived seven hours away from the four grandparents, and I was alone with the children often. 

Thankfully, we lived in an amazingly supportive neighborhood--the sweetest place in Virginia, if not anywhere. We also had a church family and a life group that went into action whenever I was on my own. Without those people, I'm not sure I would have made it. 

But on those long days with no daddy coming home at dinner time, doing mundane chores throughout the day and dealing with three unique personalities, we needed something fun. Or distracting. Or time consuming, so I could make it to bedtime. Sometimes it was as simple as a trip to the craft store for supplies to make fall leaves, or to the dollar store for what we needed to make candy cane reindeer. Other times it was a bit more involved. 

The one tradition that stands out in my memory as a save-the-day kind of idea was Cinco de Mayo. I had never celebrated Cinco de Mayo or even given it any thought. Then came one rough May fifth, and suddenly, it seemed like the best idea ever! I remember taking the children to the grocery store to buy ingredients for fried plantains and taco dip. We also bought a tablecloth and paper plates to make it festive. 

After we got home, we made a Mexican flag and some red and green spiral decorations. Ida made us red and green bracelets. I turned on Mexican music. Later, Ida shredded the cheese and helped me make the dip. An absolutely ordinary day made special by a spur-of-the-moment idea!

That was in 2009, and we haven't missed a Cinco de Mayo celebration since. The menu changed from year to year, becoming more impressive as they got older and their cooking skills improved. We no longer make decorations or the Mexican flag; we just take time to celebrate and make an ordinary day into something a little special!

Magical

 A few years ago, I was driving John Boy (yes, I call him that and no, he doesn't mind) to an appointment. As we were passing a park, he pointed out the fall leaves. 

"They look magical." he said. After a moment of silence, he added, "That's what you always did. You made things magical."

Taken aback, I didn't have a response. He went on to say that I had always done special things when the seasons changed. Well, my memory must be getting foggy! I do remember a few things, but certainly not for each season. 

John did, though. He insisted he remembered me including "magical" things in our lessons, crafts, cooking, and decorating.

That conversation in the car was one of the things that made me want to start writing a book about my traditions. But even if that book never gets written, John describing childhood memories as "magical" will forever make this mama's heart happy!

My Three

It's almost impossible for me to write about our traditions without writing about my children. I have a feeling they will appear quite a bit in my posts. So let me introduce my three.

Ida is twenty-one and is currently training to become a member of a professional ballet company. She spent three years in a studio company in Louisville, Kentucky and will be moving to Virginia later this summer to begin an apprenticeship - at the very place where she first fell in love with ballet and began her training. 

She was my strong-willed firstborn and there were days when I didn't think I would survive her childhood. These days I have been known to say that I wish I was like her. I think she is brave, resilient, dedicated, and huge hearted. 

John is my middle child. He is eighteen and just graduated high school last month. He has always been my little old man. He thinks and feels so very deeply. There is a story I always tell about my John Boy (yes, he lets me call him that still).

 When I found out I was pregnant with him, his sister was in one of her continuous rough stages and was wearing me out. So, each morning I would put my hands over my stomach and pray, "Lord, let this child be different." 

What I meant was different than his then difficult sister. But God definitely made John different - in the very best kind of ways. 

Then there is Asa. After four years of trying to get pregnant, I thought God was telling me our family was complete. We had a yard sale and sold every baby item we owned. A few months later, at age 42, I found out I was pregnant. God definitely has a sense of humor.  

He's the kind of child who dragged me out of my box - by tearing it apart, stomping on it, and lighting it on fire. From the moment our third born became mobile, he hasn't stopped. He is now thirteen and still moves a lot and talks even more, but his love for people make him a bright light. I have always said that he will either keep me young or kill me. So far, so good. 

All three of my children have their favorite traditions and sweet memories of years past and all the things we have done. I love sitting at the kitchen table with them and hearing all the things they remember. 

Those thoughts and comments continue to inspire me - even though they are twenty-one, eighteen, and thirteen. It makes me happy that some traditions are lasting into adulthood. 

Welcome

Welcome to Seasoned Mama. I have been blogging since 2004 when I began a family blog. It became a place to record and save precious and not so precious memories that I hope my children will appreciate and perhaps even cherish in the future. But where Blogging with Ida is strictly for my family, Seasoned Mama is for moms.

I am not one who is quick to offer advice, especially when it comes to parenting issues. I mean, there are some hot topics that advice on isn't always well received. However, as I age, I find myself wanting to speak to other moms. Not to necessarily give advice or tell them how they should be raising their children, but to simply encourage them. For the last several years, I've had an idea on my heart. I have been wanting to write a book about one of the most favorite things about my family - traditions. Unfortunately, I have been able find any and all excuses as to why I cannot possibly write a book.

Let's start with how the idea came to life. I have been leading a neighborhood Bible study for the past six years. Most of the women are moms of littles. They are also mostly working moms who are busy and often tired. They come into my home each week and often notice the things that we sometimes display as part of our family traditions. Or they hear me talk about what my family is doing for Advent, Easter, birthdays, or any other special day or season. Then they tell me that they could never do that. They do not have the time, the creativity, the patience, the __________ (fill in the blank). What they don't realize is that they already have everything they need in the love that they have for their family. Because of my love of writing, I decided I wanted to write a book on traditions. For all the times though that I have sat and typed away, getting as many ideas out of my head and onto my laptop as I could, I just couldn't seem to pull it all together. It seemed too overwhelming.

So, then I thought, why not start out simple. Do something I already know how to do. Blog. And so Seasoned Mama was born. Born out of a desire to write a book and in hopes that this will lead to a collection of posts that will one day turn into that book I have been wanting to write. All I needed was a name for my new blog. That came from a woman I know from church. She has two simply adorable littles and posts often on Instagram. In one of her stories, she asked for opinions on a parenting issue. Since she had asked, I knew it was okay to share my advice, for which she seemed rather grateful. In her reply to my message she wrote, "It is so valuable to hear the opinion of a seasoned mama."

And a blog was born.