Celebration

Last night we celebrated my Mom.  It wasn't her birthday.  She didn't win an award....wasn't inducted into a hall of fame...wasn't signed for a record deal {thank goodness}...wasn't nominated for an Oscar.  Last night we celebrated for a far better reason.  Five years ago to the day my Mom quit smoking.  Something I never thought would happen.  She smoked my entire life...well over half of her life {close to 40 years}...at least one and a half packs a day.  She used to quit almost every New Year and by January 2 {okay, maybe January 3} she was off sneaking cigarettes again. Five years ago was different.  Five years ago I was pregnant with Kayla and she knew she needed to get healthy for Kayla...to be there for Kayla.  To be a MomMom for a long time to come.  So last night we celebrated her amazing accomplishment...and we celebrated how amazing she is...and how amazing the bond is between my Mom and Kayla...because it truly is nothing short of amazing. 

They are two peas in a pod...partly because my Mom will do anything for her {and Kayla has her completely wrapped} and partly because Kayla thinks she is one of the best people in the world...and she's right...no argument there!  She's amazing and Kayla sure lets her know it!


After our little dinner celebration my Mom went home and Kayla was off to her big girl bed for sweet dreams...today was a school day, after all.  She woke with such excitement to share her weekend news...she declared she was going to tell everyone that she spent the night at MomMom's.  Whaaaaaaaat?  That was the exciting part of the weekend?  Spending the night at MomMom's on Friday night?  {Don't forget...she is one of her favorite people!}  Well, I thought for sure she would be eager to share the news about her big girl bed.  Guess I was wrong...but at least she was going to share something that actually happened.  Kayla used to have a tendency of doing what I call "one-upping".  For example...one day back in the fall I observed from the booth {a fun prospective of her day hidden behind mirrors} as her classmates were sharing their weekend news.  One of her friends said "I went in a boat"...another said "I played with my Daddy" and another said "I saw an elephant".  So...what come's out of Kayla's mouth you ask?  Just the sweetest little one upper you've ever heard..."I played with my Daddy in a boat AND saw an elephant".  No...I didn't pee my pants...ok...I almost peed my pants.  You have to admit, that was some really good thinking!  But while that was some good thinking, her weekend news lately actually is HER weekend news...not a culmination of her friends' weekend news.  So while it may not seem as exciting as playing with Daddy in a boat and seeing an elephant,  to her spending the night with MomMom is all that and so much more.


How do you top that?  Well, today was not only weekend news day...Kayla was Calendar Girl!  Each day a different child gets to have a turn being Calendar Girl {or Boy} and today was Kayla's turn.  Being Calendar Girl is a highlight...something she so looks forward to...so today was her turn...her time to shine.  And shine she did.


She sat up front.
Picked the word "Monday" out of the pile {with tons and tons of pride pouring out of her little body}.

Read her morning sentence.

Wrote 24 for the day {with some help}...and beamed with even more pride as she showed the class her numbers.

Whether you are celebrating a milestone, a victory, a funny one-upper or just a wonderful moment...just celebrate, friends.  Life is all about the celebration!