The language of children....

Last night my 20 month old daughter Brodie said "I love you mommy" for the first time. Of course it did not sound as clear as that but I knew what she said nonetheless. After she said it she clapped for herself and said "yeaaaaah". She is very cute.

Last night my almost 5 year old daughter Jayden said "get out of my room, I need my alone time". That wasn't the first time she said that, nor will it be the last, and unfortunately, it was as clear as that. She did not clap for herself. She did not say yeah. She is also very cute, especially when she is sleeping.

Sidebar: Imagine if I said "get out of my room, I need my alone time". LOL, yeah right - I'm sure everyone would clear the room and let me have a few minutes to myself. Maybe even bring me a coffee.

It is amazing to me the process of learning language. You want your children to be cute and adorable and say cute and adorable things. As a parent, and I think most will agree, those first few years when they are learning to talk, their pronunciation is off, their tenses are off and quite honestly we like it - we laugh at it - we call our friends and relatives and share about the funny things that were said, how they were said, why they were said. We love these moments, cherish them, better organized people than me write about them in a journal.

Life goes on, children get older, we teach them to speak properly, we teach them to reason, we teach them to express themselves, we teach them to argue....and, we wish for silence. When the constant noise, endless chatter stops, I miss it.

It is 10 pm. Jayden has just fallen asleep. Have a good night,

Audra

Twenty years....

It has been 20 years since I graduated high school. 20. Wow. Just saying that makes me twitch.

So, I'm going to my reunion this year - I feel I must - I feel that I will regret it if I don't and I promised myself a long time ago no more regrets. But now that I have made the decision to go (without my 2 best friends since they aren't local) I feel like I should take a moment to reflect on my life so far.

What have I accomplished in 20 years? I have worked for Estee Lauder, I have managed retail stores, I have been a cocktail waitress, a bartender, I have touted the benefits of rebranding and name changes, of single stream recycling, of credit union membership, I am a wife and a mother. But what have I accomplished? I haven't made a difference in the world....I haven't cured a disease, invented something new, written a book, or, basically made a mark anywhere - is that true? Do I have to have done something that I am recognized for to feel that I have made a difference?

I am charity driven - I try to give back to my community and teach my daughters to do the same. I try to be responsible with our natural resources and teach my daughters to do the same. I try to do unto others and will teach my daughters to do the same. I try to be my own person, stand up for what I believe and I will teach my daughters to do the same. Is this my difference? If I have done nothing else in 20 years but teach my children to be good, and kind, and generous, and responsible, is that my legacy? I will be happy if it is.

20 years is a long time. I think the years between 18 and 38 are the most changing/challenging years. You discover who you are, what you stand in, what you are going to become in your life. Most of us rent our first apartments, buy a house, our first car, get married, have children, get divorced, maybe sadly lose a parent or another loved one. These were life altering years.

I'm curious to see what everyone has become since June of 1991. In my head we are all frozen in time, we are all 18 again just starting out. I have no wrinkles or laugh lines, nothing sags, nothing is starting to ache, all the boys are still boys with all their hair and their bostrious laughter. 20 years are ahead of us and we are packing the Greenwich High School class of 1991 time capsule.

Until tomorrow....

Audra

So this is me

Okay so this is me, uncut, exposed, slightly compulsive with definite martyr tendencies....what makes me different from you, you ask? Not much hopefully. Hopefully you will find comfort in reading this, I will feel comfort in writing this and most importantly we will share some giggles along the way.

So how did I get to this point in my life? Wish I knew. What I do know is that I have arrived here, not sure I'm too happy about it and certainly not sure what is next. I'm a venter, a complainer, funny if you like a caustic, crass, certainly dry (maybe a tad bitter) woman. I'm also a wife, a mom to two girls, a Credit Union marketer, a chronic dieter, an avid recycler, an even more avid couponer and....to put it mildly, angry.

If I had to trace back to what went wrong I might initially blame the woman's lib movement - seriously ladies whose idea was this? Did these woman really think that the woman in the future would want to do it all? Could do it all? Really, seriously COME ON! This was not in our benefit! Don't get me wrong, I'm all for a strong woman, a woman who doesn't need a man to do this or that - but in no uncertain way did I sign on for working full time, raising a family, keeping a house clean, a refrigerator full, paying bills, doing laundry and as you all know all to well how long the list is - the list we are expect to do with a smile, without a complaint and without (most times) a thank you.

Now, you might have read this far and you might be saying to yourself - this woman is just going to complain about the same things we all complain about - or maybe you don't complain about these things and either A) enjoy them B) don't enjoy them but just don't say anything or C) are heavily medicated and/or drink LOL. Okay, sorry, I digress. This "blog" if you will is just a snapshot of the daily trials and tribulations we all go through and my take on them, which again I hope you will be able to relate to and hopefully find funny.

Enjoy the ride my friends.......feel free to comment, share etc....

Audra