It's all over....

It was a little over a year ago that I began my journey as Oregon's 2012 Young Mother.  We just had our gala, and I passed the title to a new Mom.  My kids are a little sad.  I told them that they were the "kids of the year."  When they were out of line, I would just remind them of their duties, and they would immediately return to perfect behavior.  (kidding :)  I'm so excited for new 2013 Young Mother.  She is amazing.  The National Convention is in New York at the Waldorf Astoria.  What a year she has in store.  Here is a little photo collection of my adventures:

My handsome escort

Arriving at the Gala with my 2 oldest daughters

Waiting for the long walk up to the podium

My acceptance speech

It's official

Then we made the trip down to Salem to meet with Representatives in the State Capitol:

Oregon State Capitol

Before the session

Then it was off to Washington DC for the National Convention.

Private Congressional Reception inside the Capitol.

I would sneak out for an early jog to see the sights-White House

Met some amazing mothers

My speech:  "Inspired, empowered and raising the next generation."

Lovely new friends

My sweet sis-in-law came from Seattle to join me

Allison Sweeney from Days of our Lives and Biggest Loser spoke about health and balance in families.  We met with the founding board member of National Women's History Museum.  Dr. Gina Messina-Dysert, a feminist theologian, presented about domestic violence against women.  Velva Dawson explained her UN initiative improving the health of women, children, and families.  We heard from Ree Drummond the Pioneer Woman blog star/TV personality.  The most touching talks were by the lovely Shawni Pothier-2011 National Young Mother. 

We spent an evening in Georgetown and saw the Monuments by night:

White House with a full moon

Jefferson Memorial

Capitol Building

Formal Gala at the Mayflower Hotel

We were special guests at National Cathedral Service-remembering the importance of faith in the cause of motherhood.

Back to Portland for Mother's Day address at Catholic Grotto Sanctuary.

Summer brought community service:

Decorating floats for the Rose Festival-Grand Floral Parade

Marching with some of my kids in the Jr. Rose Parade

Ended the Summer with the Days for Girls Service Project with my daughters and the Young Women.

Fall brought the Honors Luncheon at Claremont Country Club.  This is a speech explaining our purpose at American Mothers.

Christmas came with our annual service project.  We had a large donation of quilts, food, and supplies for the Sunshine Pantry in Beaverton.  We toured the facility and donated to their "Christmas Shop" for needy families to get Santa presents for their children.

2013 Gala

Do we look tan?  (just back from Hawaii)

NW Orchestra started an elegant evening.

I gave my farewell speech.
Congratulations to the amazing and talented Liz Caswell!  She will represent Oregon well in 2013...

A native of Moline, Illinois, Elizabeth Caswell began studying piano at the age of 7. She earned the Bachelor of Music degree summa cum laude from Augustana College, and the Master of Arts and Master of Fine Arts degrees in piano performance from the University of Iowa. She made her professional debut in a concert for King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden in Stockholm at the age of 19. She was a professor of piano at New York University, and made her debut at Carnegie Hall in 1996, and has performed at Lincoln Center and throughout Europe and the United States. She moved to Portland in 2004 and now works part-time outside the home as a concert performer, and as an Adjudicator for the Oregon Music Teachers’ Association.

Elizabeth has been married to her husband Paul for 20 years, and they are parents of two children. Ian is 14 years old, and a freshman in high school and Abbie is 10 years old and in 5^th grade.  Elizabeth spends significant time volunteering and chairing many programs at her children’s schools, in Girl Scouts, and for her church and charitable organizations in the community.

Every Girl. Everyday. Period.

https://www.daysforgirls.org/

What if not having sanitary supplies kept you isolated during menstruation?    DAYS without school. DAYS without income. No leaving your room... for DAYS. It happens worldwide to women in impoverished communities. Girls miss up to 3 months of school in just 1 year. Girls use leaves, mattress stuffing, newspaper, corn husks, rocks, anything they can find... all to try to stay in school. Worse, girls are often exploited in exchange for hygiene.  It turns out this issue is one of the keys to social change. It's hard to imagine, but true for women all over the world. 

When a girl has access to feminine hygiene she can change her world:

*She is more likely to stay in school

*She has more confidence

*She has more health knowledge

*She will speak up for herself and others

*Her future income will be greater and so will her country's GNP

*She will contribute to her community

*Her children and peers are more likely to do so as well.

This is why DFG matters

  

This is the kit we created

For my Young Mother service project, I joined with the team at Days for Girls (DFG) to create feminine hygiene kits.  It's a simple step that makes a big difference.  I presented this idea to my friends Melanie and Bekah.  (They both have amazing sewing talents and did much of the difficult work.)  We organized several different service events with the teenage young women from our church and their mothers and wonderful leaders.

We created about 100 sanitary napkins, 30 carry bags, and 10 complete kits.  The items were shipped to our local DFG chapter where they can be distributed to 22 different nations in third world countries.  Volunteers will deliver these supplies to women in needy communities and train others to teach about health, hygiene and how to make their own supplies.

The most rewarding part of the project for me was watching the young women grasp the significance of the service they were giving. The thoughts of struggling through each period without the help of sanitary supplies opened their eyes to a harsher world and they left with a new-found appreciation of some things we usually take for granted. They also realized that they were changing the world one girl at a time.

A video that I love that gives the big picture of why it's so important to help girls:

The Annoying Thing About Motherhood

Yes, we always try to read in our Sunday best...just kidding.  (photog:  Tasha Nicholls)

I have awesome kids.  I love them.  I am passionately interested in everything they do.  From lofty accomplishments to those moments of victory when potty training.  But there is one thing about motherhood that really irritates me.  I find the constant work of it to be at exact odds with the joy.  Keeping that balance between all the things I have to do to keep my family fed, in clean clothes, and a reasonably tidy house compete with beautiful connections to my family in a deeper, spiritual, eternal way.  The nagging of life pulls at my contented bliss.

I have a volume of scripture that I bought a few years ago.  It was beautiful and expensive.  I wanted to cherish it.  From it's glossy pages my children would learn it's truths.  I carefully read from it every day.  My children read from it.  We would prop it up in a cookbook holder at the breakfast table to read while finishing a meal, we would pass it around in the evenings while we sat on the couch and read.  I would pack it in my suitcase on trips and we would read in hotel rooms and beach houses.  By the time we finished for the first time (and that took longer than I want to admit), it was pretty beat up.  The binding had started to come loose, there were a few sticky pages from unwashed hands taking a turn reading, and the cover was scratched from all the travel.  I remember feeling very discouraged that my lovely volume was now like everything else in my life; once pristine and perfect, now worn and tattered.

This phenomenon carries over into the lovely things for my home, my once new smelling car, and even my aging body.  I try so hard every day to keep things nice and every day they seem to deteriorate into chaos.  As I looked at the book I contemplated what it was good for now.  I didn't dare put it on my bookshelf next to all the lovely books anymore.  It would only highlight how I had failed take good care of it.

Then it struck me.  The point of reading the book every day wasn't to keep the book beautiful, it was to get the book inside my kids.  To make it's teachings a part of them.  If it looked as if it had been a bit chewed and digested, then maybe that was the point.  I wanted them to internalize what it was teaching.  I wanted it to be a part of them.  Motherhood isn't about keeping things perfect, it's about working every day towards a perfection that exists on the inside.  It's about using things as stepping stones for the growth and development of these precious spirits that I have been blessed to teach.  With the wisdom of a mother I choose the beauty that is growing on the inside of my children over the appearance of perfection in our routines.

The book doesn't sit on the shelf with all the other leather-bound books now.  Instead, it is the focal point of the family room and we still try to read from it every day.  It no longer mocks my inability to keep things beautiful, but serves as a monument and reminder for the important and slightly messy job of motherhood.

Appreciation: Tough Teacher

Well...it's finally here...tomorrow is the last day of school. I always face this day with mixed emotions. The overpowering emotion is “Yay, we can sleep in!”. But underneath is a sadness that my kids are getting older. Another year is gone. They are growing up so fast and learning so much. Am I teaching them and enjoying them as much as I can? Alongside these ambivalent feelings, I have a deep gratitude for what their teachers have contributed to their growth this year.

Luke and his teacher.

After a year of reminding Luke to be “much neater” his cursive is (finally) legible. When I took this picture, Luke said: “Hey, when you kneel down I'm taller than you” to which his teacher replied, “I'm still tougher.” :)

We have been blessed with devoted teachers. I can honestly say that I appreciate every teacher my children have had. It's not just that I appreciate the break from my sweet children for hours on end (although, I do appreciate that). I feel like my children are learning and growing under their leadership. I love watching my third grader name all the bridges in Portland and then give an explanation of truss engineering and counterweights. I love to hear my kindergartener explain what oviparous animals are and then try to trick me with her superior knowledge of hatching baby chicks. My fifth grader can show me his power point presentation about the Revolutionary War and then explain how it's similar to the 2011 revolution in Egypt. Teachers invest their time and energy into opening up the world for my children. They are guides on a voyage of discovery and I am grateful for their partnership.

Now it's my turn...I always think of Mom as the most important teacher. There is much work to be done. My classroom is the home, the neighborhood, and the beach. I plan to encourage summer reading, work on a few math skills (thank you Khan Academy), and enjoy my conversations with these lovely little people. Thanks for the great year, teachers. Happy summer to all!

Bedtime Stories

“You may have tangible wealth untold;

Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.

Richer than I you will never be--

I had a mother who read to me.” 

 --Strickland W. Gillan

 

I'm a big believer in the nurturing value of bedtime stories. I can still remember the cozy feeling of being snuggled next to my own mother as she read aloud to me. I know this is where I learned to love reading. It's an official part of our bedtime routine. It's a great way to help the kids relax and settle down. I started when they were young with baby books and now we mostly read chapter books. I have covered thousands of pages across many genres. I had one embarrassing moment at the library when I was told the limit was 100 books and I need to put some back. I think it has helped with their schooling. One of these days I will share some of my favorite children's books. But mostly, I do it because I feel like they are tucked in with love every night when we connect at the end of a day by sharing a story.