Guilty As Charged!!!

I started this blog about a month ago with the hopes of exercising my creative bone (well, the little one I have at least); but have only posted two. I read a friend's blog today and how, 'The blogs will be spaced out because I am very busy with moving, etc.'. I thought, what am I busy with? I mean, yes, I work full-time, I have a 6.5 year old son with more energy than anyone I know; but really I am on and off the Internet throughout the day on the weekends AND practically every night during the week (ok, so I am a bit of an addict-I'll admit-Facebook is my guilty pleasure). Well, the truth be told, I don't always feel I have something, "news-worthy," to write about. I want my blogs to be insightful, witty and fun to read.
Do I write about the fact that I am now,"into" my 30s and that it sounds older than just being plain old 30? That sounds a little narcissistic!
Do I write about the fact that I am elated that the school board approved for my son to be held back in the first grade, and how great this will be for his future? This sounds like an achievement, and most circles would probably look down upon this.
What to write about? This is the question!

Sometimes the past is like an anchor that holds us back, you have to let go of who you were to become who you will be -Carrie

Next weekend is one of, typically, two trips I take home to Northern Idaho to visit my family. When people hear this, the common response is, "Oh! How nice it must be to see them!," the truth is that it kind of sucks. I've been wallowing in my self-pity all week, wondering why, and it finally dawned on me that I am going home in less than a weeks time.
Every time I go home, I slip back into the same roll that I've always played in the family dynamics and forget all of the healing, learning, therapy, conflict resolution tools, etc...basically I feel like I forget who I am and regress back to the self-conscious, victimized child of the past.
Over the past 9 months, I've watched myself become truly transformed. I relate, completely, to the caterpillar-butterfly metaphor. I feel that I have a new lease on life. I was living in the past for a long time. I was hanging onto so many painful memories and living them over and over again. It was truly hell on Earth for awhile in my life. I was specifically hanging onto memories I can directly attribute to my Mother. I am envious to those of you who have bonds with your mothers and are able to share, obtain advice, and really get on a level with your mother. I am also learning to let this envy go too. To give you a greater understanding-I have a difficult time picking out Mother's Day cards. I am not a pretentious person, and I can't pretend with my mother either. Ok, back to the my transformation. Over the past few months I've FINALLY forgiven my mother. I really let it go. I no longer dwell on the past, and if I do, it is only for a moment and does not have the power it once had over me. I've also decided, based on this forgiveness, that I am going to tell my mother that I forgive her. This is going to be nothing short of difficult. I have no idea what to expect nor if my mom is going to cop to, and say, "thank you Andi," or "what are you talking about?"...I don't have an idea...but I do know this-forgiveness isn't about my mom, it's about me and if my friends can forgive me for all of the crap I've put them through, then surely enough I can forgive my mother for what she's done. I feel that part of the process of forgiving my mom is letting her know, and this will be the last step in my forgiveness. Although I may always have to sort through the broken shards of the past, I can now do it without the pain that once accompanied me for a very long, hard time. The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong. - Gandhi

What do Newport Beach, Alta Coffee Shop, The Pita Pit and my friend, Krista, have in common?

ME! Tonight I spent some much needed girl time with my new friend, Krista; although it seems we've known eachother forever. Girls- you've all met another lady that you just click with and never run out of things to say, have a ton in common, and just hit it off- it was meant to be! Well, that's Krista, and I feel very blessed to have met her. It's difficult to run across good friends at the age of 30, no school, a single mom, you know the story. Anyhow, our journey started in my car (Krista walked right over, she lives around the corner), then to Alta in NPB, 2 or so hours of chit-chatting later, both stomaches rumbling...viola...Enter stage right The Pita Pit. God's light shone down from heaven (really, no really! lol) and there she was. On Newport Blvd. Finally, I don't have to make the trip to Idaho to enjoy the greatest Pita's known to late night unruly inebriates sobering up after a few pub crawls.

Take me out to the ball game...

My son, Caleb, has been playing baseball this Spring. He is 6 and a half years old. I've noticed that this year of his life has been much different than the previous 5. I guess you could say he's not a little boy anymore; although I've managed to preserve the innocense of one. Every Saturday for the past 2 months he has had a game. It is so funny to see a bunch of 6 year old's playing a seemingly, "adult," sport. At first, it was a train wreck. Now, they have all made amazing strides and I am ready to call an agent and vouch for the entire team.

Anyhow, something I've noticed, specifically observing him in his games. He is changing, using terminology and tapping teammates buttoxes in congratulations of a good play. This is strange behaviour for me to observe when I still think of him as a little boy. On the way out of the park today, he saw one of the opposing teammates and said with ease, "Good game dude," I was in shock. When did he start using, "Dude," to address his friends? How is it that he's so grown up to exchange pleasantries, such as, "Good game dude," to an opposing team mate at the young age of 6? I love watching him grow up, I love seeing him becoming who he will be!