Happy Anniversary

Happy 14 years my love. I was going to write or pen you a card with some kind of beautiful picture on the front but let's face it they get put into a drawer and not looked at again...so why waste a tree. So...in the spirit of the modern age...I'm going to give you an anniversary blog post.

I wish you could see the transformation I've seen in you over these past 15 and a half years. The young boy I first met...so unsure of himself and the world but full of life and wonder. The amazing man who has laugh lines from laughing at life...always the dreamer...the loving and caring father...the romantic husband :) I've been gifted to watch you go from a boy to a man...and see the love you have for me in your eyes.

You are the next John Muir my love...you will in your own way change the world just like we talked about on that park bench... late in the night all those years ago. You will change how people see nature and the natural world around them. You will change how they think about it...about how they protect it...how they become a part of it. God has given you many gifts...but your strongest is your love of nature and your natural ability with people...those two things are going to make the difference in this world...the question is just how. You are a light...you walk into a room and you light it up.

Thank you for taking the chance on me...an onion to say the least. I may not always admit to my faults, I may take you for granted when I shouldn't, say things I regret, and even make you question why in the heck you said yes to my proposal all those years ago...but I will spend my life thanking God that you did. I will give you my heart and soul. I will fight harder than anyone ever has for you and love you harder than anyone ever has. I will be your best friend and lover, I will hold your hand when you are sad and hurt, I will fight away the demons in the night, I will laugh with you, cry with you, give you babies, and help you raise them into fine human beings. I will literally give you my life...you are that wonderful.

Happy 14 years of marriage and 15 and half years of partnership!

Our last year

My First Post

I'm going to write in this blog each day for a year...a year in the life of a modern woman who has decided to stay home with her children. Each day I'm going to try to find a new positive element to the choice I've made, the choice to raise my children and work from home. To find this new wave of feminism I've heard about, women who've decided to embrace taking care of our families and trying to keep our individuality. I invite others who are joining this crusade to join me...let's chat.

Day one...

I'm not sure if anyone will ever read this blog or if this will remain a way for me to vent, discuss, and or process my crazy life as a stay at home mum. I'm a stay at home mum, I work out of my home, and I take care of my family. Most days I get small amounts of each done...

My work is two folds, I'm a stay at home mum. Which means I feed the kids, make most meals, do the laundry, clean the house, pay the bills, and keep everyone from pulling out their hair until papa gets home. When he gets home I turn in my fairy wings and hide in the bathroom until bedtime...just kidding. My husband is an amazing supportive father and husband...he is the true definition of partner. When he comes home he's feeding, changing, entertaining, and keeping the kids under control. We share making meals, cleaning, bills (most times), and everything else we can when he's home in the evenings. He goes to all the doctors appointments, school events (when he can) and is always good for bringing home a caffeinated beverage when I'm pulling out my hair. We have a four year old daughter and a one and half year old son...so we stay really busy.

The second part of my stay at home life is running my business Feather River...a consulting firm...I know "consulting" the buzz word we hear a lot. Right now I've been hired as a grant writer to start a family violence prevention program. Someday I think it will actually happen...other days I think I'll be eated alive by politics

Well now that you know a bit about me...here's the reason why I'm writing a blog. Four years ago my life started to change. I'm an educated woman, I have a masters degree and until four years ago thought I was going to spend my life living out of a suitcase...traveling the world...experiencing other culturs...you know the dream. Then I got sick...when I recovered I realized thier was a life I wanted to experience but had been too scared to dream about...I wanted a family. My husband and I talked and decided the time had come...so we got preganant. I assumed that when our daughter was born that I put her in daycare after three months and go back to the business of saving the world...and then I saw her face. I was hooked. I knew then that my life had changed and I'd never be the same. Fast forward three and half years and I now have two kids, and the only exotic cultures I see are at the library while trying to find Canadian series "the black stallion" on dvd.

My life has changed...sometimes for the better...sometimes it's just different. As an anthropologist I watch people...I study them and try to find what makes them work. When I entered this culture of mummyhood...I was initiated and suddenly found that our group is split into two camps...the mums who work and the mums who stay at home. This makes me insane...we often do it to ourselves. Those who stay at home are seen as mindless drones...throwbacks to the 1950's. And those who work (and I say that know that we all work...work harder than anyone can image...) outside the home are seen as selfish women who abandon their kids. Why...why have we put ourselves in these two camps. Times are different...styaing at home with our kids is a huge financial sacrifice that many if not most can not afford. Most families need/have to have two incomes to survive so why do we punish each other. Why not create a support system.

This blog is my way of reaching out...not that my words will help anyone.