August is one of my favourite months! Why you ask? ITS MY BIRTHDAY MONTH! And it also means we are one step closer to it being Fall. My favourite season by far.
Right now I am loving the cooler August temperatures. Nice enough to be outside and not be uncomfortable for once. While I am disappointed that summer is coming to an end, and I haven't checked much off of our bucket list (not to fret there is still time!), I am looking forward to new and exciting adventures next month.
One thing this month I really learned was the importance of humour in my life. I like to think I am funny - even when my husband tells me I'm not. But when I am down in the dumps a good dose of laughter is the best kind of medicine. This month we've experienced loss and lots of change which hasn't been easy to deal with. I've shed a lot of tears, both happy and sad. But one thing I can say is that laughing through the hard times definitely helps. I think sometimes when we are sad we think it isn't "right" to laugh. I beg to differ. I think that if laughing is what makes us feel better and to release our emotions in a different way there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. So when you are having a hard time find someone that can make you laugh whether it's watching your favourite comedian, a good friend, your child(ren) or your spouse. Find that person that can help bring a little laughter into your life.
Speaking of crying and emotions one thing I really reflected on this month is whether or not you should cry in front of your kid(s). I shared a story last week about me crying in front of Lily and had a lot of great discussion come up from it. This past month we found out a friend passed away. I was scrolling through Facebook and saw the announcement and immediately started crying. Lily was in bed with me when this happened. As soon as I started crying she was at my side rubbing my back and asking me if I was okay. I teared up more because her reaction brought so much love and comfort to my heart that she would never be able to understand. I held her close and cried into her shoulder. After I had calmed down and Lily had me laughing again I started thinking. Should I have acted like that in front of her? Should I have allowed myself to cry into her shoulder? I am her mother, she is supposed to be crying on my shoulder! While I beat myself up about it for a few minutes, I quickly snapped out of it and realized that yes it was okay. I want my children to see me show my emotions, whatever they may be, and know that it is okay to express yourself. Yes, there is a time and place for everything but I don't ever want my children to fear their emotions and being able to show them. I bottled things up for years, and sometimes still do and it does no one any good. I think if I show my children I am comfortable crying on their shoulder, that they hopefully in turn will feel the same about crying on mine. I am excited for September to come because we have some exciting news to share very soon! I love how you guys are apart of so many special and hard moments of our lives. I appreciate all of you who reached out this month to chat and check in on us. It means the world to us.