At the end of July, my son and I both celebrated our birthdays – my 30th and his 3rd. In the margins of time I had between celebrations, I wrote a little something to mark the occasion.
On Turning 3(0)
When you’re 3(0), you know it is good to let go of things you have outgrown. For him – diapers. For me – certainty. When you’re 3(0), you are learning how to ask for what you want. For him - “But I just want to [fill in the blank]” For me - Remembering that I’m allowed to say that too sometimes. When you’re 3(0), you know how to imagine. For him - being an astronaut, or a doctor, or a dog racing through his room. For me - who he might become, who I might become, and who our country might become. When you’re 3(0), you are learning how to clean. For him - how to put his toys back in the right bin. For me - how dish soap is the answer to everything. When you’re 3(0), you are learning to listen to your body. For him - when he needs to go potty, when he needs to sleep, and when he feels hungry or thirsty. For me - when I just need to book that appointment already. Or stretch. Or get some fresh air. When you’re 3(0), you are learning to be afraid. For him – of water, and masks, and dogs, and animatronics. For me – of losing him, of not doing enough, of being wrong about the big things. When you’re 3(0), you are learning that you can love someone and not like what they are doing. For him - when his brother takes his toys. For me - when he and his brother both exhaust me. When you are 3(0), you are asking, “Who is God?” For him – with the hope of getting a clear answer. For me – with the hope that I do not.
Yours,
The Feast of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus - The story of Mary and Martha spoke to me in a new way when I re-read it this time around, and I wrote a reflection for their feast day. Exhausted mothers, this one is for you!
In honor of the Olympics, here’s a fun fact for you: 15% of the US Women’s Swim Team attended my high school, Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart. I overlapped briefly with Katie Ledecky, during which time I embarrassed myself (and her, I think) by asking her to autograph the program from our sports awards banquet. When I was a reporter in DC, I wrote quite a few stories about these hometown olympians, including this story in 2019 about the “rising stars” Erin Gemmell (a middle schooler at the time) and Phoebe Bacon, who are now both on the team, and this story in 2017 about Katie Ledecky being named AP Female Athlete of the Year.
Right now I’m listening to Kamala Harris’s book, The Truths We Hold, to learn more about the person who could become our first woman president (!)
Other than that: Happy Birthday and Sto Lat.