Love What You Do.

 Our parents smoked, cursed, attended church, watched tv, birthdays with cake and a piñata, they gave us kool-aid and we all survived. I learned how to swim by my dear Mother tossing me in and saying, "sink or swim child" after many times of refusal. I'm sure you all can guess how that experience worked out for my 29 year old breathing self. We were spanked, and given a hard time when we stepped out of line. We didn't have someone giving us a medal or trophy to work hard. As we were told that it was a way of life, and you either sink or swim. We learned to cope and we survived. But, sometimes a few things change in the world and that shouldn't always be considered a bad thing. We grow to love a few different things. Then we earn stripes of parenthood through the accomplishments we survive through.

Lately, as I'm planning yet another birthday party for my son, I am consistently being told that " parties were much simpler when you were a kid."

Yes, so was adding on sunscreen to a child. It didn't have to be organic, non-chemical, non-spray. It just had to say sunscreen, and BAM it was on. You didn't have to purchase bug spray in the same aspect. Or organic foods.

You see some of us may love purchasing the most healthy vegetables known to the whole foods market. Some of us may love attending every sport our children play, running marathons, taking selfies or serving on the PTO for ten years straight.

To an actual surprise some of us may just actually just love throwing parties. They don't have to be pinterest worthy of an event. It just has to be worthy of what you love to do. This has nothing to do with a failed birthday as a kid or the way I made a success of being tossed into an above ground pool. But it has all to do with a passion and what my family has always loved to do. From the Halloween parties as children with the amazing haunted houses and smell of "chainsaw" smoke fills our memories every Halloween. To the flashlight tag we played as we all camped out in our backyard for a huge sleepover birthday celebration.

Our passions may differ from travel, bjsports to chalk board designs above buffet bars. It doesn't make either of us trying harder, or failing - and boy how I could scream when someone tells me they are failing at parenthood due to an attempt. You put love into whatever you do for your children, and that is by far more of a success than my frantatic mornings of trying to make sure flowers match a table runner, or last minute trips to dollar general to make sure I have enough lemonade.

We choose what we love.

Mine for sure isn't waking early on Saturday morning to run a 5k. Or traveling each weekend to watch my child play a sport.

But it is planning, organizing, staying up too late to finishing super gluing a last minute craft, or sewing a table runner in twenty minutes. I may love to be stressed about not having enough items, or the correct table cloths. So if you want to stay up late applique a last minute birthday shirt. Do it. If you want to sit under a tent in the pouring rain while your son is playing football. Do it. If you want to plan every event for your child's school while on the PTO, do it. If we want to only go out to eat and celebrate your littles birthdays with movie and pizza. Do it! Or chase pokemon around your city limit... please, by all means do it.

I'll never regret celebrating the life of my loved ones in the way that I choose to do so. Most of all, you shouldn't regret loving what you do either.