My 7 Year Old Conquers Her Fear and Sings Seasons of Love

January 5, 2012 By 20 Comments

This will be the year of conquering fears, I can feel it.

I already went ice skating.  And that was huge. I was certain I was going to break a hip.  And not only did I MANAGE, I actually had fun.  Turns out my small girl was scared too.

We helped each other.

One of my favorite quotes of all time is this one by Eleanor Roosevelt.  I see it on my fridge every day.  To my sweet 7 year old, the quote itself is scary.  Do something every day that is scary?  No. Thankyouverymuch.

But I believe it is good for the soul.  So I am trying.  And I encourage her every chance I get.

Though, to be fair, when you are seven, it is easy to be scared of being scared every day…. so I’m not pushing.  But this?  Her allowing me to post this video her singing?  Well, it is big.  Huge.  Monstrous.  Initially she didn’t even want to let me video her while she sang.  And then she relented.  Because she knows listening to her (over and over again) brings me joy.  And I think she was smart enough to realize if I had her on video, I might not request her in person quite as often.  Knowing her hesitations about singing ‘in front of people’, I didn’t even ask her about putting it online.

I waited.

And then SHE came to ME.

Just an offhand comment.

“Mommy… you can put my video on YouTube if you want…”

Here she is.

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Filed Under: A little piece of Heaven, Featured Content, Featured Videos, Video and Vlog-It! Tagged With: , , , ,

Make It A ‘Yes’ Day For Your Small People

October 19, 2011 By 4 Comments

I know they missed me.  I know because if they could crawl inside my skin like baby kangaroos, for additional warmth and love, they would.

My small people have maintained physical contact with me since I walked in the door from my eleven days away on book tour (details on THAT coming soon).  I have to confess, I love it.  There hasn’t been whining and crying and complaining about my time away, but rather, a pure desire to absorb every second we DO have together.

We are focusing on the present AND our presence with each other.  It is amazing.  They hold my hand, touch my face, snuggle next to me on the couch.

I’m living a mother’s dream. (minus the inevitable jockeying for position and the difficulty I experience trying to shower, cook meals and go to the bathroom with small people attached to my hip)  But I happily battle through…you know why?  Simple: My small girl’s face the first day I was home when I told her I wasn’t going to work all day.  I promised I wouldn’t even open my computer. Her joy was palpable. She danced and giggled. I swear she actually levitated: the thought of my undivided attention made her lighter.

It was a ‘Yes Day’ – I promise to say ‘yes’ to everything I can.  And they promise to keep their ‘asks’ reasonable (no, we can’t hop a plane to Disney World, no we aren’t moving to California (yet!) and no, I can’t cancel school for the rest of the year….) Everything else is fair game.

It was Columbus Day, so they were off school.  This ‘free day’ was nothing special: to the outside world.  It was a park-Chick-fil-A-pumpkin-patch-kind of day.  It was friends and laughter and mommy + small people kind of time. It was ‘yes’ to buying small pumpkins, yes to an easy dinner, yes to painting those pumpkins.

It was ‘corny’.

And it was perfect.

I think I need to have a ‘Yes Day’ once a week.  It was as good for my soul as it was for theirs….

Have you ever tried a ‘Yes Day’ with your small people?  If not, I encourage you to try it.

**Warning… you may have so much fun, they may have so much fun, you might commit to one every week – and that means excessive laughter, breakfast for dinner, double desserts and mis-matched socks**

 

Filed Under: A little piece of Heaven, Featured Content, Recent Posts Tagged With: , , , , ,

Wordless Wednesday – Favorite School, Favorite Small People

August 23, 2011 By 7 Comments

My small people have now started school.  Two weeks ago, I took them to MY last school, the University of San Diego.  I snapped this picture (with my brand new Nikon!) and it shows everything I love about that small dude and small girl…. and everything that is gorgeous about USD.

The small girl plans to attend as a Freshman in 2021.

Filed Under: A little piece of Heaven, Featured Content, Recent Posts, Wordless Wednesday Tagged With: , , , ,

Wordless Wednesday – A True Beach Bum

August 17, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The small dude knows just what to do when he hits the beach…..

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Fulfilling a Life-List Moment – Speaking at my Alma Mater

August 12, 2011 By 4 Comments

They opened my door slowly.  A sure sign I was about to get some news I didn’t want to hear.  My Dad was angry, I could see it in the way his lips were pursed.  Mum was nervous, sad.  Not a good combination.

This was the Spring of 1991.  I was a Senior in High School. It had been an extremely tough year already.  Mum bounced back from what doctors had told us would be (not could be, mind you)  a fatal condition (we still aren’t sure how).  But she was still fragile.  Whatever was eating at her now couldn’t be good.  I could feel my stomach tighten, my heart galloping to catch up with the tidal change of emotions in the room.

They told me to sit down.  Again with the bad signs.

It seems there had been a bit of a mix-up with my college applications.  I applied to ten schools.  I was accepted to nine of the ten.  That tenth, and my dream school, Stanford, was a long shot.  I knew it when I applied.  So, the rejection, though it stung, was expected.

But this news? Was not.

My ‘second’ choice, and by default (since we all knew Stanford wasn’t going to come calling) my first choice, was Santa Clara….a small Liberal Arts School in Northern California.  I was accepted via early admission.  So, in the Fall of 1990, I knew…. unless Stanford suddenly had a spot open for a girl like me, I was Santa Clara bound.

Until this moment.

You see, I needed financial aid to attend college.  My parents sacrificed more than I can fathom to put my brother and I through private school through our senior years.  But the money needed for college simply wasn’t growing on the trees in our backyard.  This is where financial aid came in.

You remember I said I was accepted to nine schools?  By this time, eight of them had given us wonderful financial aid packages.  But not Santa Clara.  When my dad called to inquire, the call went something like this:

“Hi there, I’m calling to inquire about financial aid information for my daughter, Danielle Elliott….”

(Plug your nose and do your best imitation of a bored phone operator when reading this portion aloud)

“Well, you see, Mr. Elliott…. the problem is that your daughter hasn’t been admitted to the University yet….”

“Pardon me, but she most certainly has.  I’m staring at her acceptance letter right now… she was admitted during early acceptance in the Fall?”

SILENCE……….

“Ummm…. Mr. Elliott, let me call you back…..”

Unfortunately, the call back didn’t include good news.  There had been an error, a mistake, if you will.  My name, along with a half dozen other undergraduate names, as well as a few dozen Law School acceptances were never transferred to the Financial Aid office after we were admitted.

And now?  It was too late.  The financial aid was gone. Given out. Spent. Shared.  Gifted.  Call it what you wish, but it was now impossible for me to go to Santa Clara.

I cried.  I sobbed the heart-broken tears of an 18 year old who has planned her life with THIS college as her first step, only to be blocked at the first turn.  And I had absolutely no idea where to go now.  Those other eight schools were just backups.

Until my College Counselor said, ‘Go South.  Visit the University of San Diego.”  Mind you, I initially said, ‘no’.  Probably in an extremely vehement fashion.

But I visited.  And I loved.  The white buildings.  The blue sky.  The green grass.  The ocean in the distance. It is no wonder USD was just ranked, today, as one of the ten most beautiful Campuses on Huffington Post.

This was home.  This third choice college turned out to be one of the best decisions I ever made.  What I learned in these classrooms, the friendships I made on these lawns, the love I have for San Diego, I carry it with me today.

One week ago, I returned to USD, fulfulling a life-list moment…. I spoke on this campus. And it is to Lindsay Maines that I owe a debt of gratitude for giving me that moment….for inviting me to speak during her Women Create Media event.  I spoke about Writing for Love and Money with my amazing co-author, Aliza Sherman. (Our book, Mom, Incorporated is DONE and available for pre-order on Amazon now.((I’m giddy))  It will be in bookstores in October)

I imagine it will be no surprise when I tell you I teared up as I thanked Lindsay for this moment.

Filed Under: A little piece of Heaven, Featured Content, Recent Posts

How do you want to be celebrated on Mother’s Day?

May 7, 2011 By 4 Comments

The celebration of Motherhood, for me, is wrapped up in the tiny details – it is in the dandelions clutched in tiny fists, presented to me as Royal flowers, it is the unexpected, “Mommy?….  I love you.” from the quiet of the backseat of the car… it is the smile I can’t hide when one of the small people holds the door open for someone or says, ‘thank you’ without a prompt….  It is in hearing the small dude say he can’t wait to be at the same school as his sister so he can hug her at recess or the small girl congratulate her brother on a school project.  Individually, these moments are but grains of sand gathering on the shore of my life as a mother…  but collected?

They mean I am doing something right.

And THAT is worth celebrating.

In the sea of guilt that threatens, some days, to take me down, it matters to me to know there are moments, there are glimpses and golden reminders.

I know, for some mothers – being celebrated on Mother’s Day means a ‘day off’ – heading to the spa, a massage, a pedicure, no laundry…..  and for others, it means to be surrounded by family.  It seems to me that both age and the length of time you have been a mother factor in to your preferences here.  As a brand new mom – you are enamored by all things motherhood…. You wouldn’t dream of spending your first Mother’s Day without the being who made you so….  When you are in the throes of the crazy – the taxi driving, the soccer games, the PTA, the homework, the 9 year old or teen angst – you can’t seem to help but scream for the Calgon but as your children begin to develop a sense of their own lives….  Distancing themselves naturally, you long to grab them by the shoulder and pull them back.

I know, if it was up to my mom – we would be with her from sunrise to sunset.  But I have friends who would be happy with breakfast in bed and a day off.

For me….  I think I fall somewhere in the middle.  Now, don’t go accusing me of being wishy-washy.  I want to spend time with my small people.  I want to be surrounded by everything that reminds me of the joy of being a mom – I want to be hugged a million times – I want smiles and little-bitty hands curled in mine – I want eyes that look at me – still somehow sure I have the answers. – I want my children to get along…. AND I don’t want to do the laundry or make dinner.

So there.

Who’s with me?  How would you like to be celebrated on Mother’s Day?

This Mother’s Day conversation is sponsored by a company I love (and use!) Tiny Prints.  I love that they have given me some beautiful things to think about as Mother’s Day approaches.  All of their Mother’s day cards(and Father’s day cards too!) are fully customizable and can be sent straight to the recipient. You can even schedule the cards to be sent ahead of time too.

 

Filed Under: A little piece of Heaven, Featured Content, Recent Posts Tagged With: , , , ,

A Preview – Why I’m in Hawaii with P&G and the NFL

January 27, 2011 By Leave a Comment

This is the beginning of what is going to be a spectacular week here in Hawaii with Procter & Gamble and the NFL.  I wanted to give you a little preview of what I will be doing and why I’m here….

We are heading to the Playground build this morning – and will have more video this evening.  (I’ve been told I’ll be chatting with reigning Super Bowl MVP, Drew Brees….  I’m a little excited.)

For more information on P&G’s commitment to Child Wellness, visit Take it to the House.

This post is part of a series from my time in Oahu covering the ProBowl and Community Blitz for P&G. I was compensated for my work, however all thoughts, opinions and experiences are mine alone.
Filed Under: A little piece of Heaven, Extraordinary, Featured Videos, Recent Posts Tagged With: , , , , ,
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