Claire picked up junior and stuffed him into a bird house she made at summer camp. It took two monkey wrenches and prayers to get him out.

There are times that cynicism and wit seem like the dark side. Why are all of my ramblings edgy? If someone who didn’t know me read this blog, what on earth would they think of me? They perhaps might say, “Wow, she has a chip on her shoulder” or “Shit, she’s kinda funny” or “Oh no she dinnn’t!” But would they say "Wow, she has a genuine heart and amazing spirit"?? The answer is: Probably not. Don’t get me wrong, I love my blog and I love to randomly vent to the internets about my ear wax secretary and the stupidity of humankind – but I saw a blog yesterday that really made me think.

I was looking at one of my favorite blogs [that even though I am now married, I love to look at her daily inspiration board, you know, for next time around (j/k)] I saw a tribute to a blogger called Stephanie Neilson. She and her husband were recently in a plane crash and they were seriously burned. Support from the blogging community has been amazing and many bloggers have banned together for a blog auction for them and their four small children. Someone even designed some jewelry in her honor, one with a beautiful sparrow. I was sad to hear about such a tragedy, but even more so, curious as to what she could have written on a blog that could have touched so many… and then I went there. She uses pictures to highlight the life of her adorable family. THIS BLOG touched me.

Okay, so you really do need to go look at the pictures, but she had a party for her children who were preparing to go back to school. She made a gourmet dinner for them with their finest china and topped off with a decadent chocolate cake. She had little hand-made banners that said “be prepared” and crafty princess crowns for each of the girls to wear to the party. A small red-haired girl smiles wide in a photo, wearing her crown and a self-beaded necklace. Stephanie writes,

Toasts were made, stories told, goals planned and the girls walked the cat-walk showing off the new school duds in a family fashion show.

If I am blessed with children, this is the kind of mom I want to be. I sat there thinking,
“I’m creative and crafty, but am I THIS creative and THIS crafty?”
“Will I spend that kind of time on something special for my kids with the hustle and bustle of work, marriage, finances…life?”
“When her kids grow up, they will tell people about the parties their mom threw for their back to school.”
“I want my kids to feel that special.”

I even tried to justify, well – she probably doesn’t work and of course! she’s Mormon! [note JCLDS logo to the right of the page.] But then I thought about how a liberal Jew from Ohio was so proud of that Mormon mom from Arizona. To be able to post one blog and have someone across the country know that you are an amazing mom, that’s really something.

So, send your happy thoughts and prayers their way, hopefully her family will be up and playing again soon. And in the meantime, maybe we’ll be less cynical, maybe we’ll take a fresh look at how much life there really is to enjoy and how the people you surround yourself with make you a better person every day. Make it a NieNie Day.