"Hi! How are you doing... in the weeds?"

Let's begin at the beginning, my dad always says.

First, a shout out to my awesome gal pals who responded to my latest FB status update with enthusiasm and support for me to give this a try.  Next, my blog's title was sent to me from my highly creative best friend and admired sahm, who now lives waaay too far away and likely had something better to do than think of a title for me!  Apropos, our unbreakable friendship began with this question—eons ago, at an overcrowded Rubys Diner, 2 hubbies, 4 toddlers, and 2 babies between us:

"Hi! How are you doing... in the weeds?"

A crystal clear question that stuck in my head amid the chaos, and not just the chaos in that echo loud, fluorescent-lit, salty restaurant.  This timeless phrase, poetry for chaos, is so befitting for us Moms when we cannot chat on the phone, share coffee or wine in person, or drop everything to seek a huge hug for tremendous joy, over-whelming sorrow, or for simply the triumph of finding the bottom of the laundry basket.  The hectic life raising kids keeps us basket-case Moms very humble, often tired, worried, anxious, overprotective, overloaded, over-medicated.  How easy it is to find ourselves inevitably lost between broadening their little horizons of wonder and trying to keep one step ahead of [fill in the blank] before the sun sets.

Many moons ago, I got lost.  I can't tell you how it happened because my life was, and is, filled with a loving family, comfortable home, and a very busy schedule.  My days started with emails and fb before sunrise, then I raced against the clock to sunset. After dinner was textbook "BBB" Time, aka: bath, book, bedtime... for kids, rarely for me.  I rarely had time for me, but couldn't see the forest from the trees, or weeds.  And if I did happen to have a snippet of time for myself, I was too exhausted to do what I used to do BK: paint, decorate, design, listen to loud explicit rock music, read, crafts, paint. Aside from glue sticks and construction paper, the right side of my brain was getting seriously neglected.

I did not see myself as unhappy.  I had a fun and supportive friend along for my crazy ride.  We'd meet everyday at sunset, sometimes earlier.  I, flustered and hot; she, still and slightly chilled. She was Yin to my Yang... until, sometimes, she would be replaced by another friend along for the ride later in the night. We laughed and we cried together unbeknownst to the serious toll it would quietly have on my health, marriage, and family.

"Hi! How are you doing... in the weeds?"
It sounds like a question, but it's not.
It's a statement. A covert statement that says, yes, I am here with you in the weeds everyday, my Mommy friend.

It's been a long 2010, digging even deeper for the strength to recover my health, find balance, carve out "ME time" while caring for my three beautiful kids and thanking my husband every day for his love and never-ending patience.  Lately, I've been reading funny SAHM blogs in between researching the history of Chardonnay and its marketing focus on women, both topics to which I obviously relate.  (Move over Virginia Slims, now there's something that really satisfies her!)  Anyhoo, I had to laugh out loud at the wicked irony of one of my gal pal's suggestions for my first blog story on motherhood...I'll call it "through the looking glass."

xoxo Breeze