After spending the whole morning facilitating e-meetings for work, I heard a knock on the back door.  12:30 already, I thought. Dad answered the door and sure enough it was Ms. Boomer stopping by for your weekly lunch with Anna.

To be honest, I felt relieved that dad answered the door.  Even though I had worked until midnight Friday, all day Saturday and then late into the evening on Monday and Tuesday, my inbox had over 1,500 unread messages.

Under pressure to get things down, I was in no mood for small talk. This thought no sooner crossed my mind, when I heard your father call for me.

Somewhat begrudgingly, I headed to the open backdoor. The sun poured in the entry way. I popped into the threshold of the door frame and the warmth of the sun immediately melted my resolve. In an instant, my plans changed.

A quick run to McD’s for five $1.99 Happy Meals and our social distanced back yard picnic began.

Yes, this mid-life mama still eats Happy Meals. In fact, when I was just about your age, one of my sweetest pleasures was when I’d save enough money to ride my bike across town with a friend to grab a Happy Meal or $50 ice cream cone from McDs.

Soon enough, you girls convinced us mamas that you were big enough to head out on a solo walk together. A quick stroll down the block and then you were back, “Could you cross the road?” I knew this ask was coming.  After all, you have been allowed to wander a block or two before with a friend, but crossing busy roads has been off limits.

The truth is THE busy road that separates you and your BFF isn’t really all that busy. It’s a two-lane 25 mph state road. But, there is no nearby stop sign. And, many people from out of town use the road. And, the crosswalk is barely visible any longer. And, it has way more cars than our quiet residential street.

The truth is I could find 1,000 legitimate reasons why mama hasn’t let you cross that busy road, but none of them would be the truth.

And so, we agreed.  You could cross over together to pick up your BFFs sister. We, mamas, chatted somewhat uncomfortably as we waited for your return. We chuckled with relief when you decided to call when you arrived and when you left. 

Ten minutes later you returned proudly triumphant, sister in tow.

You, our babies, kept safe…on your own…without us mamas.

As you bounded off to play, we laughed out loud releasing tension built up from years of hanging on tight to someone you know you must let go.

Fly little birdies, fly.

Tomorrow is Mother’s Day. The world is in the midst of a world-wide pandemic. This will be the first Mother’s Day that I can not hug my mom.

Papa and grandma became snowbirds this winter. The plan was for them to be back by now, but there is a world-wide pandemic. It is not safe for them to travel. So for the first time ever, I won’t be able to give my mama a hug on Mother’s Day.

Tomorrow, I will miss hugging my grandmother again. I imagine that she celebrated her 100th birthday in the presence of our Savior surrounded by her great love, her parents, friends and family. I imagine bagpipers played the birthday anthem and she enjoyed buttery shortbread and tea in little fancy teacups.

Tomorrow, I will get a mama hug. I love your mama hugs.

Eleven years ago, dad and I were newlyweds. Children were off the table. I would have described my life as nearly perfect.

Ten years ago, I received my first Mother’s Day gift – I put it in a drawer and didn’t take it out until we moved last year. At the time, I remember being afraid. Afraid that you wouldn’t survive until your birth – Afraid that you would survive and endure a life of suffering – Afraid I wouldn’t be a good mom – Afraid that I could never find the confidence to step into the role my mother and grandmother exemplified so effortlessly.

Looking back, I know now that fear is a liar. God provided me everything I needed and more. I worried needlessly. He provided exactly what I needed when I needed it – not a second earlier or later.

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus your own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus your own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus your own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.