Life Lessons from a Hot Mess Mom

Life Lessons: Serenity Mom Life Edition

Anyone else have a calm, quiet, peaceful place to go when they need a little break from life?

Sitting in the woods is definitely one of my favorites to find my serenity!

I can claim hunting as the hobby but honestly, that’s not the reason I go. It’s one of the only places that I can be completely unavailable and have zero guilt.

It’s where I can sit and whisper conversations to God about so many things. I just love telling Him how thankful I am for the wonderful life He’s given me. I literally talk to Him like I’m a child...

“God, Thank You for the sun, the moon, and the stars.”

“God, Thank You for the trees and the beautiful fall leaves.”

“God, I’m so amazed by this world and everything You created.”

I whisper “Thank You!” every time the squirrels play in the leaves, the birds sing, and the deer roam free.

I almost always leave empty handed and I’m sure everyone thinks that the hunting trip was just a waste of time but little do they know that this Hot Mess Mama loved EVERY MINUTE of just sitting still in those woods admiring God’s creation while taking time to just relax, breathe, and recharge before heading back to my wild, crazy, chaotic, absolutely beautiful life that the Lord has blessed me with.

So, Yes, I may leave empty handed but my cup hath been replenished! 🙌

Life Lessons: Autism Mom Life Edition

This morning was a ROUGH morning with our 10 year old autistic son, Miles! Not the laughing, smirking, ut-oh sort of emojis rough either. Like 💔😭 ROUGH!

His (wonderful) teacher called before I even made to work. I dropped him off at school and had to pick him up all before 8 AM. He was distraught! He was hitting his head and slapping at others! 😳

Miles doesn’t usually act that way! (I don’t play that mess!) Something was obviously wrong but he couldn’t tell us (which is where the heartbreak 💔 came into play).

It seemed as if he was having urinary issues so we went to the doctor. Urinalysis was negative but his behaviors were evident enough to try treatment. He was MAD MAD y’all! 😡

Well, next challenge… 👩‍⚕️ “Give him these pills!” 👀

“Ummm… Excuse me.” 🙋‍♀️ “He doesn’t take any pills! He rarely even puts candy in his mouth. I promise it ain’t happening.” 🤷‍♀️

👩‍⚕️ “Just crush them and mix them with something.”

Okay, first up, I mix with antibiotic… He 🤮 and now he and I are both stained highlighter yellow. (IYKYK 😩)

Next up, I mixed with chocolate pudding… Wow! It actually worked (even though even he didn’t love it.) 👏

Then, I found some old “all-natural” oils that we tried last year (again IYKYK) and gave him some of it. I was desperate y’all! 🫣

Finally, he was a little calmer and watching Mickey Mouse! 😮‍💨

My Mama came to my rescue about lunch and I headed back to work. 🙌

Miles is now sleeping peacefully at home! 😴🙌

I’m worn out though y’all! I feel like I’ve wrestled 3 bears, a mountain lion, and completed a triathlon!🥱

…but this life never stops so this Mama just keeps on chugging along! 🚂🚂

Life Lessons: Mom of Adults Edition

As a mom of 5 children ages 20, 18, 8, 7, and 2, people often ask me random questions like “Is it harder when they’re little, teenagers, or grown?” 💙🩷🩵🩵💗

Well, I’ve learned that even though all the stages have their pros and cons, raising young adults may keep me up at night more than the infant stage. 🥱

Our 20 year old took off to a UGA Baseball game today and is spending the rest of the weekend in Athens with friends. 🐶 ⚾️

Our 18 year old daughter attended her Senior Prom tonight. 🏴‍☠️ 💃

The other kiddos are sound asleep yet here it is after midnight and my husband and I are still sitting up waiting for the oldest two to settle somewhere for the evening. 🤪

Now, we don’t always wait up for them as we trust them but they almost always check in and let us know where they are and when they’re settled for the night whether it be at home or somewhere else. 📱

It’s not even a command they have to do anymore but it’s a common courtesy that they still don’t mind doing because they know I just want to know they’re safe and seeing that text message on my phone even if it’s at 2 AM makes this momma at ease. 😅

So, here’s to still raising young adults! 🥂

May we teach them how to be independent adults, trust them to make good choices, show them how to effectively and respectfully communicate, pray over them daily, and watch them soar. 🥹