Love From Maria

It's that time of year, so here's another recap on the year, woo. I have seen a lot of hate for 2017 - it was perhaps not our finest year in existence, but I have to be honest - 2017 has been a great year. It's been tough, and challenging, it has stretched us further than we knew we could be stretched. It brought new opportunities, it saw doors close and others open. 2017 has taught me just how much we can be capable of if we are courageous enough to step up and take our turn. 2017 was also the year that celebrated my thirtieth year on this planet. Thank you again, to every single person who helped to make my birthday wish an explosion of love.  In honor of this gift, this gift of thirty years, I thought I would share my biggest life learnings. 1. Have Best Friends - Love Them Hard The people we surround ourselves with make all of the difference. Make space for those who lift you up; be someone who lifts others up. Put in the effort to maintain the friendships th

In the span of two years I went from a stay at home mom, to a part time working mom, to a full time working mom. With each shift there was obviously gratitude and excitement about the new opportunities but I'd be a total liar if I didn't admit that there was also a sizable amount of mom guilt that also accompanied those shifts and changes. Almost daily I reflect on the day and feel guilty for time spent apart, or time not spent at the playground, or time spent thinking about the other things I need to do.  When I question parenting decisions I often reflect on what I experienced myself, as a child. And that isn't specific to this working mom guilt - I've thought about it with almost every decision I've ever made as a parent. I think that's just a natural thing we do in life - relate back to our own lived experiences to draw context for current ones.  While I was walking today I thought about my own parents and their work-life balance. When my father s

One of my favourite parts of Christmas as a kid was our advent calendar. My mom would sit down at the beginning of December and write out all of the activities that we would get up to in the lead-up to Christmas. We did all sorts of things like go public skating or have $5 Co-op nights - this involved picking anything you wanted for dinner, for $5. My favourite activity was Dairy Queen night. On Dairy Queen night we got to choose a name from their tree, go shopping for a gift and finish it all off with a Blizzard. I don't know if that's where my love of giving started but it couldn't have hurt. I love giving back - there is little I find more joyful than contributing, whether financially, with time or energy, to a good cause. Last week I was tagged in this article by my sweet friend. The article reminded me of our Dairy Queen night from my childhood, of the joy and love experienced in choosing a gift for a child that otherwise might not receive one. Parenting comes with