Category Archives: Holiday

Mother’s Day Reflections

Mother’s Day Reflections

Mother’s Day Repost: Birth of a Mother at 45

I first wrote a version of this post nearly a decade ago, but wanted to share it again here for Mother’s Day.

What struck me most about turning 45 was that my mother, at 45 years old gave birth to me.  I was her second child, her first child, my brother, was born when she was 43.  That was in the 60’s when most women did not have babies that late in life. She was a Navy nurse, an RN, who went on to get her Ph.D. She was used to doing things most women didn’t do at that time.   My mother died from breast cancer when I was seven months pregnant with my own first child. As a new mother, I had never needed her more.

The last words my mother spoke to me were “I will always hold your hand”. I held her tiny, cold, and puffy hand through that last night of her life in the hospital. In the morning I watched her chest rise and fall, as she slowly took her very last breath. I truly expected to feel her presence then, as she had promised, but felt nothing. I looked for her everywhere for weeks, for months, but she was gone. The stark finality of death confounded me.

When my first child was born three months later, I half expected to look into her eyes and see my mother’s soul. It was clear however, that my daughter was a unique individual from the very start. I had to come to terms with the fact that my longing was just a wishful notion. The magical thinking that follows death of a loved one.
I did find her,  eventually, but not where I would have expected. A year and a half later, on a wintery night, my baby woke me with her cries. With a fierce mothers need to warm and comfort her, I brought her into bed with us. I hushed her, and soothed her, and held her hand as we both finally drifted off to sleep.

My epiphany came somewhere in that hypnagogic state. The hand that I was holding was suddenly so familiar, tiny, cold, and puffy in mine. I had held this hand before.
I was flooded with the exaltation of a reunion with a long lost love, wakened now by the realization that a baton had been passed. My mother was there, where she had been all along. That intense mother love, that profound need to soothe my baby’s cries,resonated within, and I found her deep inside me. I was the mother now. She had shown me the way. I understood that the incredible depth of what I felt for my daughter, was how my own mother had always felt for me, and she was there.

Photo by Michelle Amarante

Honestly, for the first time I reflected on the gestation, birthing, nursing, and holding, all of the draining things mothers give to their new child with love. All that she gave of herself was what brought me here, to my own motherhood. Now, whenever the small hand of one of my own children slips into mine, I hear her words, “I will always hold your hand, ” and she is there with me.

 

This post was modified and reposted from “I Will Always Hold Your Hand” on www.amomknowsbest.com
The author at 45

Gifts of Love

Gifts of Love

Three Valentine’s Day gift ideas

To Spread the Love :

Thistle Farms

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Love Heals Burgundy Hat

Thistle Farms was established to provide a loving community for survivors of sexual abuse, prostitution, trafficking, and addiction. By providing housing, counseling, economic development opportunities, and  community support, Thistle Farms works to help women get back on their feet. Their many products, including candles, bath and beauty products, clothing, and jewelry, all represent their mantra;

“Love is the strongest force for change in the world.”

For Book Lovers:

Book of the Month Club

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Join  as a gift to yourself  (like I did) or for the book lover in your life.

The Book of the Month Club lets you pick one new bestseller each month from the five the club has selected. When I looked at the books they have chosen in the past, there were many that I had read and loved or that were on my list to read. I knew I’d be happy with the options, all at a discounted price.

For Indulgence:

Vosges Chocolate

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Valentine’s Day Bundle

Vosges is always on my list as an indulgence for Valentine’s Day because they do an amazing job with making all of their items unique and truly special, not to mention the delicious exotic chocolates inside their incredible packaging. This year features the  ‘sacred hi-vibe Bastet Collection ” named for the Egyptian Goddess. 

With Love , Happy Valentine’s Day!

Valentine’s Day Gifts To Give With Love!

Valentine’s Day Gifts To Give With Love!

v-day 2019My favorite holiday is coming up! Life is about love in all of its precious forms and although it should be given generously every day, there is no better excuse to spread the love and celebrate its beauty than Valentine’s Day. Here are a few of my favorites this year for a sentimental gift, gifts that give back, or ways to up your chocolate, flower, and wine game.

#LoveIsProject

Puppy Love! How cute is our dog Leo’s new collar we gave him as an early Valentine’s Day gift?!  Every purchase of a handmade Love Is Project dog collar, or any of their other many products handmade by global artisans, provides a sustainable livelihood for women and their families. This product is made by Masaai women in rural Kenya. Read more about the  Love Is Project story on their website.

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FEED PROJECTS

Candles always make great gifts.  This one is even better because each FEED candle and card bundle purchased provides 26 school meals to children around the world. 

FEED Candle & Card

Ella Stein

Ella Stein is a new way to purchase diamond jewelry that is conflict-free, empowers the female artisans who craft the diamonds in India, and is affordably priced. Plus….we love their designs! 

Ella Stein Heart

Ella Stein

ONE HOPE WINES

Of course, I was introduced to One Hope wines by my friend and founder of World Moms Network Jennifer Burden. I was thrilled to find out that we could give back by drinking wine! One Hope has a great selection with the part of the proceeds of each wine going to a worthy cause. They always have fun holiday editions that make great gifts like their limited edition Valentine’s Day gift boxes this year.

One Hope Wines

Shutterfly

These custom photo collages by Shutterfly make beautiful and sentimental gifts, perfect for Valentine’s Day.

To The Moon and Back photo collage

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Olive & Cocoa

The gorgeous bouquets offered by Olive  & Cocoa take flower giving to a new level!

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Vosges Chocolates

Cosmic Heart Truffle Collection! Need I say more? The tag line for Vosges chocolates is “Travel the world through chocolate” and the exotic flavors in their truffle collection reflects that goal. 

Vosges

3 Great Family Road Trips Abroad

3 Great Family Road Trips Abroad

A number of years ago we decided that we needed to seize our opportunity for the six of us to take valuable memory making family trips as frequently as we could before the kids went off to college. Often our destinations have been dictated as much by desired locations as flight costs. We search on websites like Cheapoair and kayak to help us find the best flight deals. We usually end up doing what we call high/low travel, mixing youth hostel stays in with resorts, and tend to keep our itineraries somewhat flexible by booking key accommodations and then finding others along the way. This is surprisingly easy to do with websites like booking.com, tripadvisor, and hostelworld, and that flexibility has led us to some incredible experiences. Keep an eye out for detailed travelogues and trip guides for each of the below family adventures on documama in the next few months.

Iceland

Iceland

I call this the land of rainbows and ponies because we saw at least 1 rainbow a day and Icelandic horses were everywhere. Iceland had not been on our radar until we saw the amazing airfare on WOW airlines. We’d never heard of WOW airlines… but we were intrigued! This was a fantastic trip that the kids all loved. You have to rent a car to get around and there was a lot of driving involved, but the roads were pretty much empty, and the scenery is spectacular.  Frequent stops to take pictures of waterfalls, climb on the lava rocks, check out the ancient moss fields, and visit volcanos, glaciers, and hot springs make the driving worthwhile. And in 5 days we only made it around 1/4 of the country’s one main ring road! accommodations are few and far between but through booking.com and airbnb everyplace we stayed was great. 

iceland trip

Croatia, Bosnia & Montenegro

croatia

We flew into Zagreb instead of Split because, you guessed it…..the flights were more affordable. Zagreb is a great little city though with a vibrant market, some beautiful architecture, and a bustling city square. This also gave us the opportunity to visit the spectacular waterfalls of plitvice and the birth place of Nikola Tesla on our way to and from the coast. This region has very good roads and was easy to navigate in our rental a car ( aside from the hair-raising mountain pass our navigation system took us through in Bosnia in error). Accommodation highlights were nights inside the ancient walled Roman cities, which I highly recommend, and a couple of fantastic beach resorts. Between the rich history, the spectacular beaches, and the numerous world heritage sites, this trip has something for everyone.

Croatia map

Ireland/Northern Ireland

ireland

Despite the narrow roads a road trip around Ireland and Northern Ireland is easy to do. We found wonderful bed and breakfasts along the way which we mixed in with a few youth hostel stays . Our itinerary was provided by our Irish friend and we pretty much visited all of the places he suggested. There is amazing history and scenery everywhere and of course great pub food! We were blown away by the ancient beehive huts around Dingle and the 5,000 year old megalithic passage tomb sites of Newgrange, the kids loved climbing around abandoned castles and the incredible Giant’s Causeway. This is again a wonderful family trip that was a crowd pleaser!

ire roadmap

 

Bon Voyage!

Give Love: 5 Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas With Heart

Give Love: 5 Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas With Heart

Valentine’s Day is coming up, and this year more than ever the need to spread the love is real. Here are five Valentine’s Day gift ideas with heart.

1.Heart of Haiti

In Haiti I stocked up on heart shaped art pieces while on my recent trip to visit artisans with the Artisan Business Network who create pieces for the Macy’s Heart of Haiti line.  The art of Haiti is beautiful, and the hearts depicted everywhere throughout are part of the reason that it resonated so much with me.  Haitian art is heavily influenced by Vodou veves, or symbols, and the heart represents the goddess of love, Erzulie. These pieces make perfect Valentine’s Day gifts because when you purchase them you are helping to support Haitian artisans and their families. It is like giving twice, and you don’t have to travel to Haiti to find them since Macy’s partners with the Artisans and carries Heart of Haiti products online and in their stores.

Heart of Haiti

2. FashionAble

While in Ethiopia as an International Reporting Project New Media Fellow I had the opportunity to visit the FashionAble factory where I met women waving beautiful scarves and better lives. Since then FashionAble has branched out into leather goods and jewelry and I am in love with their new lines. Each piece gives back to those building a brighter future for themselves and their families.

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3. Roost Crate

Give your honey some honey!  My father was a bee keeper so I grew up harvesting and eating honey on everything. Honey and Honey bees have a special place in my heart so when I saw that the February Roost Crate “Farmer’s market in a box” was dedicated to honey I had to order one as a gift to myself!  A Roost Crate “you’re the Bee’s knees” box would also make a super sweet gift to your honey! If your sweetheart is a foodie you might just sign them up for one of the subscription options and keep the love flowing month after month!

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4. (RED)

(RED) always has fantastic partnerships and proceeds from (RED) products go to the fight against HIV/AIDS. My favorite this Valentine’s Day is the (RED) app! How cute are these emojis?!? A cute, simple gift to download on your Valentine’s phone.

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5. Alex & Ani

I love this local Rhode Island company that gives back globally. They have partnered with (RED) for a collection of bracelets that benefit The Global Fund. Perfect for your Valentine!

ALEX AND ANIl contributes 20% of the purchase price of each Heart of Strength Charm sold, with a minimum contribution of $25,000 between January 2017 and December 2017 to Global Fund to fight AIDS with (RED)®.

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