Wednesday, June 15, 2016

Anniversary

14 years ago, I said "I do."  And I am so glad I did.

There are a few hyms that will make me tear up: "Amazing Grace", "Eagle's Wings", "Here I Am, Lord" and "Silent Night" at a candlelit Christmas Eve service are some of them.

Well, we recently sang a hymn in church that caused me to choke up: "I Was There to Hear Your Borning Cry".  I have resonated with its lyrics of middle age but, this verse jumped out at me last week:


"If you find someone to share your time and you join your hearts as one,
I'll be there to make your verses rhyme from dusk 'till rising sun."


 And I do feel that our verses rhyme and our hearts are joined as one.  For this, I am truly blessed.

Monday, February 15, 2016

Love


Love....

Love three day weekends

Love that my dear husband is working from home so I can go to a yoga class

Love that the boys are getting to play in the snow again this winter

Love having leftover lasagna and garlic bread from our Valentine's dinner for lunch

Love a fresh box of chocolates from which to pick and choose

Love having a good book to read

Love.

Monday, September 14, 2015

September 14, 1995

20 years ago, I went on a date with a nice, good looking guy I met at Lehigh University.  We went to see the movie Dangerous Minds starring Michelle Pfeiffer.  This guy was a complete gentleman and as he told me about himself in the car rides to and from the movie, I remember thinking "this boy is different".  During our date, I came to realize he was well-spoken, polite, intelligent, funny, cool, confident, in addition to being cute.  We enjoyed each other's company and ended up going on a second date...and hundreds more since then...including a lunch date today.

To the love of my life, I wish a happy 20th anniversary of our first date.  xoxo

Sunday, September 13, 2015

September...

What a wonderful summer.  We truly relaxed and recharged.  I got organized.  I was on top of things down the stretch.  We were ready for the new school year to begin.  Last week at this time, I was feeling like a mom who was in the zone.  I had a clean, tidy house; laundry was caught up including new clothes and sneakers laid out for the first day of school; fridge was ready for a week of lunch making.  I felt good.

But, it only took 4 days of our new routine to completely turn me upside down again.  ;-) 

Tuesday morning, first day of school for the boys, first day back to work for me, and Mark is off on a week long business trip to Boston.  We wake up to find the refrigerator is not running.  4 days later...4 days filled with errands, preschool prep, back to school forms, baseball practices, soccer practice, gym workouts, electrician and appliance repair service calls, homework, meals and birthday party prep...and I am all out of sorts again.  The house is a mess, laundry is piling up, and the fridge is empty (but blissfully running).   

Ah, September...I used to love you so much.  But, September with the kids activities and my part time job is not as easy to love.  I'll have to content myself with daydreams of Septembers on the Cape when Andrew was a baby.  Life was good. 

You know, life is still good, very good...just hectic.  I know the dust will settle this week or maybe next week, or the week after that ;-).  I know it will.  It always does.  And I will be glad.

Til' then I will enjoy the smile on Jay's face looking at the birthday cake I made for his party, the joy and excitement in his heart planning the obstacle course for his "American Ninja Warrior" birthday party, the excitement in Andrew as he enters a new season of baseball, and the blessings of Mark's job and the opportunities it brings for him.  I will take it all in stride and breathe in the cooler air signaling my favorite season is near.  I think I could fall for September again. 

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Christmas Magic

This Christmas season, I've had a few conversations with other moms about their child's thoughts on Santa.  Recently, I was chided for allowing Andrew to realize that the tooth fairy is just a tradition made up for some reason.  (I mean really what is the reason for the tooth fairy tradition?)  When Andrew asked me to "tell him the truth" about the tooth fairy back in October, although I was torn in the moment knowing that I would be sapping some magic out of his world, I opted to be honest.  After all, I want him to be honest and I don't want to trade on the trust we share.  So, blah, blah, blah, I still fibbed and said sometimes the parents help out the tooth fairy.  He asked me to not help on this night and then he'd have his answer in the morning.  Well, this is where my friends chided me.  It was their opinion that I should have really upped my "fairy game" and spread glitter in his room, taken the tooth, left a note, etc.  Now, I'm not saying I'm right or they're right...I honestly don't know what is correct here.  I do know that someday the magic will lessen around these traditions and that they will fade away completely...until my sons are parents remembering to sneak into their kids' rooms to collect a tooth from under the pillow. 

Now, when Andrew understood that the tooth fairy was made up...I was terrified that there would be a domino effect and before December was in full swing he would have connected the dots and given up on Santa.  While I strive to allow him to grow up, mature and be who he is going to be, I also find I am surprisingly feeling very bittersweet about the prospect of the boys no longer believing in Santa.  In every other aspect, we encourage the boys to be curious, questioning and thoughtful.  So, why do we expect the tradition of Santa to be off limits for that same curiosity?  Yet, the thought of them learning...well, it makes me feel sad for the loss of this bit of magic.  To hope he never stops believing or never figures it out is dumb.  However, I'm being hit over the head with how special this time is right now when they do believe.

It is amid this emotional back and forth that I am reveling in the little things this year:  Andrew, unprompted, writing a letter to Santa on December 1st.  Jay reading the word believe on a decoration and asking "Why do we need to believe?", to which Andrew responded "so we get presents".  Andrew asking to have the iPad in bed with him tonight so he can use the "Santa tracker" app to know exactly when Santa is getting to our house so he can sneak downstairs to see what happens.  The boys wanting to bake special cookies just for Santa (even though we are completely inundated with schleck!, enough to cobble a plate together for dear old St. Nick).  The boys' unbridled joy making those cookies, with me, for Santa, together...oh gosh, here comes the emotional wellspring again.  I'm about to turn into a puddle of tears right now...Christmas music on, already reminiscing about our special time baking in the kitchen just 2 hours ago.  Pull it together, Reen!






I'm trying to live in the moment...and right now, that moment is pretty darn perfect!  Even if it's the tail end of this specifically magical time in their (and my) life.  As I can attest to from my own personal experience, the magic of Christmas doesn't end...it just doesn't. 

My dear husband has just walked in the door, home early on Christmas Eve.  And so I'm off to bask in the magic of this year, for it is unique and special to this year alone.  I guess I just wanted to "write" this feeling down.  Merry Christmas!


Sunday, October 5, 2014

Thursday, September 11, 2014

Monday, September 1, 2014

Holding on to Summer

Trying to hold on to Summer for as long as we can.  Back to school tomorrow!

One last game of wiffle ball before summer "ends":



 Final Score:  The Schoonovers 6 - Andrew&Mom 4

Monday, June 16, 2014

Father's Day 2014



I love this man for so many reasons...today I'm thinking of the father he is to our sons.