Unexpected Blessings

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Have you ever noticed, that when you are at what you think is your absolute lowest, there is always someone there to say exactly the right thing at exactly the right time? You just have to be paying attention...

I had one of those moments today. I was talking to my mother on the phone, crying my eyes out because of the mess I have made of my life.

Here's the thing - I'm rarely a crier. I'm more of a scream into a pillow, go to a butt kicking aerobic class, or a punching a boxing bag kind of girl. But in the last two months, I have done more crying than I care to admit to. And the fact that I was crying to my mother (who taught me to be that scream into a pillow, go to a butt kicking aerobic class, or punch a boxing bag kind of girl) is RARE. In fact, the last time I did, I think I was 15.

And my mom reminded me of something, something that until that moment, I wasn't even aware she realized.

"Shannon," she told me in a soothing voice that I don't remember from my childhood. (How could I have missed it?) "You are so lucky -- you have two children who love you and you get to be their mom. You have more than some people will ever have. You have the right priorities -- everything else will work out. You just have to give it time."

And then she said the clincher, the one thing that was guaranteed to make me cry harder. "You are my first born. I hate to see you so upset. If I could fix it, I would. But I know you'll get through this; you're strong."

She reminded me of something that I sometimes take for granted: I have two great kids and a family that loves me.

Sometimes, I really want to be my mom when I grow up.