A church on Sunday, Pastor Rusty gave a sermon entitled, “Where ever you are, be there”.  He went on to explain that his old boss used to tell him that all the time.  It means that we should be fully focused where ever we are and in whatever we are doing.  He then transitioned and made the point that we need to be active and present in our communities, neighborhoods and families.  I am sure that everyone in the congregation came away with a different message and a different nugget that they could apply to their lives.  What really stuck with me was an old quote, that I had never heard before, that he said in the middle of his sermon…

“Bloom where you are planted”.

Immediately I thought of the many “mommy” tasks and jobs that I do throughout the day.  But as I pondered it more, I could think of many other tasks and jobs that I do outside of the house.  Some of the hats that I wear are as follows:  mother, cook, maid, preschool teacher, water aerobics instructor, co-worker, friend, daughter, wife, money manager, playmate (to the kids), and church member….just to name a few.  My roots/fingers are in a bit of every thing.  I know that I can’t do everything perfectly, nor should I kill myself trying, but to “bloom” means to do my best and to gain nourishment from the things that I do.   It also means that I need to bless those around me; just as a flower would.

I knew that one thing that needed to be blessed by my presence was Wilson.  He has had some “issues” lately that are reminding us of when he was 2-3 years old.  Those are days that I do NOT want revisited.  Without going into too much detail today, I was about to give him away by Tuesday night.  At my wits end, I decided that what he really needed was a loving and caring mother who didn’t yell at him all day (even though he may be getting in trouble all day).  He needed a mother who played with him and cuddled with him when he asked for it.  I even let him sleep in our bed one or two nights in order to make him feel more secure and loved.  It worked two years ago and I am hoping that it works again.  Being the middle child has to be difficult and I think that he is feeling the pinch.

Anyway, back to my “blooming”….I have invested in Wilson over the past two days and I have seen a difference.  I have cuddled with him, I have spoken more kindly to him, and I have had more sword fights in the last two days than I can remember.  All Wilson wants to do is sword fight.  We swing the swords so hard that most of them break within a few days.  Recently he got a hard plastic machete that can actually break wood.  I let him chop up a yard stick into small pieces while I held the two ends of the wood stick and prayed that he didn’t break one of my fingers as the pieces got smaller and smaller.  Thankfully, he is really good at wielding a sword.  

My number one job right now is to be a good mother, teach my kids to be nice to each other, and to keep the peace.  By investing in Wilson, there will definitely be more peace in my home.  As usual, when I submit to my role as mother, I have a much happier and more content day.  It also helps to put a smile on my face, even if I don’t feel like smiling.   I have “bloomed” a bit over the past few days.  I have been a better mother and have given my children the gift of fun and laughter with their mom.