TMI Lauri

My mom  used to tell me not to be in such a hurry to grow up. She never told me why... Here it is!  1. Work is just that: work. Not everyone can get their dream job and every job requires work of some sort. I love computers and math, those things still put strain on my eyes and my hands. The kids are wonderful (mostly) but carrying a 30 pound toddler on my hip hurts my back like crazy. Then there is stress. Don't get me started. 2. Paying bills sucks. No question about it. Sometimes there isn't any extra for the things you want. Sometimes there isn't enough money to pay the necessary bills and you have to figure it out.  3. Boys never grow up. Sorry boys. This goes for the little girls too. If someone acts like a child, they may never stop. Boys always want their toys and girls always want attention. Know the kid games so you can stay out of them.  4. If you can't sleep you still have to get up in the morning. Neighbors too loud? Too bad. You are a grown up now and

When I was young and couldn't wait to be a mom, people told me, "It is harder than you think." Nobody ever mentioned specifics. Here it is. The "hard" people were talking about. 1. You will be so tired you will cry. You will hide in corners or in the shower. You will cry at 3 a.m. when your baby has been up every hour and you haven't gotten any real sleep. You will have to clean things up in the middle of the night. The more kids you have, the less sleep you get. 2. You will clean up more bodily fluids than you can imagine. You will clean up gallons of blood, urine, vomit, feces, snot, and tears. If your child has ENT issues, you may have to clean fluid from little ears. That is loads of fun. The stomach of an 11 year old can hold enough vomit to cover the floor of a 10 x 10 bathroom floor, the bottom half of the walls, and somehow find its way INTO the toilet paper roll and onto the BOTTOM of the toilet bowl. I recommend buying cases of paper towels, f

I don't think young people realize how much of your past doesn't go away, so here it is: My house is filled with reminders of relationships past (mine and his). The bra I am wearing came from my ex. It was part of my birthday present two years ago. The blanket on my bed came from another ex. Half of my bed sheets are left over from my first marriage and several more he had during relationships before me. My husband's sweater, the one I love to borrow that looks great on either one of us, you guessed it, a gift from his ex. I was married for 10 years the first time and have 8 children. Their dads call. My youngest son's dad sends letters and still sends Christmas and birthday cards to my other children. There are photographs. I have reminders of many of my former relationships lying around. Here is my point: unless you are lucky enough to find that one 30 year old virgin in the country that is chaste by choice, you are not the first! (Be warned, if someone claims to be

I keep seeing posts about how everything is bad for you and "once you see this you will never..." Truth is, I will. My entire life I have been eating/drinking/doing things that are gross if you have all the facts or dangerous or generally bad for you. I have no desire to be 100- or outlive my usefulness for that matter. I don't want to live in a vegetative state or lose my grip on reality as dementia sets in. I want to see my 50th anniversary and meet my grandchildren, but I am happy with what I have accomplished. I don't need a bucket list or immortality. I want to LIVE the years I have and never wonder about what I didn't do. I will enjoy what I have and when it is my time I will have these things to comfort me: I sacrificed when I needed to, I made mistakes, I got hurt, BUT God never left my side, I have given generously, I got to be a mother, I have given and received true love, I have known amazing friendship, and over all, I lived life MY way. I had experie