Being a working mother is hard.
Prior to the winter of 2014, we didn't need any sort of daycare for our little fellas. Work schedules for my husband and I allowed us to work opposite hours to keep them at home. And then with my husband's new job, just after our 3rd son was born, we found ourselves in a position of needing part-time care during the day once I returned from maternity leave.
Our first foray into this went well for us, but apparently not for our babysitter. So we started over and found another babysitter and things have worked out well ever since.
2014 was not the best year for me. I faced numerous challenges in life that I never expected, and certainly never wanted. My self-esteem has taken quite a beating, my very foundations were ripped right from under my feet, and it felt as if my entire world were a farce. I can't tell you how hard it is to try and rebuild an entire life, and to try to find safety and security while building a home on what feels like quicksand.
There are good days, and bad days. There are okay days, there are hard days, but rarely easy days.
As I would go and drop off my boys, I would often be struggling with feelings of anxiety, depression, anger, and frustration. I tried successfully, I think, to mask these feelings. But on one particular spring day, maybe I didn't. And the daughter of my babysitter gave me a hug. This meant a lot to me. It was so generously given! And then everyday for the next little while, she gave me something else. She gave me a couple flowers from a bouquet her father had given her on her birthday, more hugs, told me I looked pretty, complimented my shoes... just a little something that made me feel happy and worthwhile again.
And then came the dandelions. One everyday while they were still in the yard.
I began to think of them as my Daily Dandelions, even when she was just giving me a hug or a compliment. This sweet-spirited girl will never know how much those little things meant to me, or how much they helped change my outlook for the day. Even if I'd had a terrible morning, as soon as I'd show up and she would give me her little gift, my day would change for the better.
This is what I hope to accomplish as you read this blog. To make your day a little better. To help you feel that you are worthwhile, worth loving, worth respect and kindness; that you can feel the sunshine of a little yellow dandelion given to you with more love than a dozen roses was ever given to anyone else. And maybe I can help you, like she helped me.
