Last month, I was in the unique position to have sandwiched some serious individual quality time with two of my closest friends, Heidi and Lori. One week I was doing Micromovement Monday (MM) with Lori, the next I was spending time in Minnesota with Heidi. A few weeks later I was with Heidi again in Savannah and upon my return spent another MM with Lori. If there ever was a time in my life where the differences between a childfree friend (CFF) and a friend with kids (FWK) was more evident, it was then.

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It’s Whatever Wednesdays and we put together an interesting list of thought-provoking statements that forced us to look at the expectations we’ve carried around with us for most of our lives and how those expectations have been “more or less” challenged. We like to call it, “Reality Check.”

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The Invitation

I read this book by Oriah Mountain Dreamer years ago, and I loved it.  Last night I was sitting on the couch, drinking my wine and checking my email, when I thought about it again.  I flashed back to a line in The Invitation that hit me right between the eyes.  I realized that I have read it a million times, but didn’t really know what was meant until I became a parent:

“It doesn’t interest me to know where you live or how much money you have.  I want to know if you can get up after the night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone and do what needs to be done to feed the children.”

I’m not weary or bruised, and I don’t have much grief and despair, but I relate more than ever about getting up and doing what needs to be done to feed the children.

Click here to read more of Lori’s Notes.

Paper magazines and newspapers are sooooo yesterday (unless you’re at the hair saloon, of course). Today we share with you our favorite websites and blogs.

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Keeping Up

As the calendar keeps moving further and further into the fourth quarter, I find myself trying harder and harder to keep up.  I feel like I’m getting less done and doing everything half assed.  I don’t know if it’s true or not, but the feeling sure sucks.  One of my working mommy friends (there’s a new acronym for you Barb, WMFs) told me while I was pregnant that being a working mother meant feeling like you’re not doing either one very well.  At the time I could relate to an extent, but now that I’m wrapping up my first year of motherhood, that notion is up front and center.  If I can’t keep up after one year, where will I be in ten or twenty years?  I try not to think about that, and for now I’m focusing on the remainder of this year.  My goal is simply to keep up, and it has nothing to do with the Joneses.

Click here to read more from Lori’s Notes. 

I don’t have the world’s greatest memory. When I hear people talk about someone who has a photographic memory, I become very envious. It’s the little things that always gets me: I can never remember how old my parents are (both are in there 60s but I can’t give you more than that), I always forget if it’s lime or lemon that Emmett uses in the French Horn cocktail he makes me (even though I’ve watched him make it a bazillion times), and there’s always a thoughtful pause after writing the word “affect” or “effect” while my mind sorts out which one is the verb (for the record, it’s “affect”). I’ve never really been fazed by my fragile recall ability. Until now, that is. For some reason, there are some days where I actually forget that Lori is a FWK.

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Hi, Friends! Sorry I’ve been MIA over the past month but so many wonderful things came at me at once that I sort of got sidetracked. Between all the travel (three places in four weeks), new experiences (I’ve taken up paper marbling), and Hope’s Flame activities (new wholesale account, new products, getting ready for the holiday rush), Dually Noted took a back seat. But now I’m back into my somewhat regular routine and ready to blog.

So let me start off with this observation: that little Matteo, as adorable as he his, is taking up way too much shelf space!

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MOMMY GUILT

I’m not one to feel guilty.  I’ve done some things that I shouldn’t have done, and I’ve said things I shouldn’t have said, but guilt has never been a big part of who I am or what I do.  If you live your life fully, mistakes will be made and all we can do is try to learn from them.  Having a baby, however, put a whole new spin on both my definition and experience of guilt.  So much so that I’m almost feeling like I was raised Catholic!

Click here to read more from Lori’s Notes.