{"id":379575,"date":"2013-05-13T02:44:00","date_gmt":"2013-05-13T02:44:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/2013\/05\/13\/motherhood-and-a-week-of-wondrous-moments\/"},"modified":"2013-05-13T02:44:00","modified_gmt":"2013-05-13T02:44:00","slug":"motherhood-and-a-week-of-wondrous-moments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/2013\/05\/13\/motherhood-and-a-week-of-wondrous-moments\/","title":{"rendered":"Motherhood and a Week of Wondrous Moments"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/p>\n
\u201cThe story of a mother\u2019s life: Trapped between a scream and a hug.\u201d ~Cathy Guisewite<\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\ufeff<\/div>\n
Twenty-three years ago, today, I lay broken in a hospital bed.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
Forty-eight hours after giving birth to my firstborn.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
My room was filled with brightly colored flowers, symbols of celebration and sadness.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
I wailed when I opened the Mother\u2019s Day card a friend sent me.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
\u201cBut I\u2019m not a mother. My baby\u2019s dead.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
A mother\u2019s greatest fear, her deepest sorrow\u2026<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
Failure. I failed to protect the life entrusted to me<\/i>.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
The following year, which also happened to be Mother\u2019s Day and May 12, I was home.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
In that twelve months\u2019 span, I\u2019d born the hopes and dreams of another conception.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
I\u2019d faced the disappointments, devastation, and shattered dreams that came when I miscarried in the beginning of the second month.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
On that second Mother\u2019s Day, I sat on the floor of my bedroom and wept over a cardboard box.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
The container that held the only memories I thought I\u2019d ever have with my Gavin.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
I was a mother without a child.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
And I was a woman, with yet another babe nestled deep in my womb\u2026<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
In the midst of tears and utter turmoil, there was also joy.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
Happy happened, just as the proverbial shit had happened.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
For all you moms whose children have died too soon, know this: You are a mom. Always. Forever. And no matter what.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
* * *<\/span><\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
I have documented so many fleeting moments of happiness this week!<\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
Not that I don\u2019t usually acknowledge more than one instance, but I don\u2019t usually end up stopping to photograph and\/or log them all.<\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
So, here\u2019s this week in review!<\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
One of Warren\u2019s favorite things! We put the boat in the water for the first time. Glorious sunshine!<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n
Warren’s happiness is contagious!<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n
I couldn\u2019t resist turning my car around to watch this frolicking little foal<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
I actually had the time to prepare this Mexican meatloaf for dinner one night.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
And, I made another for the freeze, ensuring future smiles!<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n
Hanging baskets for our porch bring daily smiles<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span> <\/div>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Apple blossoms that haven\u2019t bloomed in years<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n
\ufeff<\/div>\n
Gavin\u2019s 23rd<\/span><\/sup> birthday in Heaven<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n
\ufeff<\/div>\n
\ufeff<\/div>\n
\ufeff<\/div>\n

And then, today, a beautiful and relaxing day with my family.<\/span>
<\/span><\/p>\n

Not to mention a few gifts to add a little extra love, pampering, and confirmation that my kids love me in all moments between the hugs and the screams\u2026 <\/span><\/div>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Happy Mother\u2019s Day to all you fabulous women out there!<\/span><\/div>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

What moments of delight brought a smile to your face this week? Share them here and enlighten someone\u2019s else\u2019s day!<\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Soon\u2026<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe story of a mother\u2019s life: Trapped between a scream and a hug.\u201d ~Cathy Guisewite \ufeff Twenty-three years ago, today, I lay broken in a hospital bed. Forty-eight hours after giving birth to my firstborn. My room was filled with brightly colored flowers, symbols of celebration and sadness. I wailed when I opened the Mother\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3938,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[316,797,203,798,87,317,799,233,19,106,54,800,322,323,801],"class_list":["post-379575","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-happyhappens","tag-apple-blossoms","tag-birthday","tag-boating","tag-child-loss","tag-finding-happiness-in-your-day","tag-foals","tag-happy-happens","tag-inspiration","tag-joy","tag-loss-and-healing","tag-meatloaf","tag-mothers-day","tag-motherhood","tag-spring-blooms"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/Mother-Child-WillowTree.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379575","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=379575"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379575\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3938"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=379575"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=379575"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=379575"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}