Have you ever noticed that many people have gone through the same struggles as you have, but you never knew it until you started to talk about it? This happens to me all the time.
I had no idea how many women had miscarriages until I had one.
I know now that many women have miscarriages, but my Mom had 14. Yes you read that right. 14. I am an only child and she was on bed rest the majority of her pregnancy with me. I am like my Mom in many ways, but would this be one way I was like her as well? I of course had no way of knowing. So as we started to pray for our unborn child, we prayed that if it was God’s will, I would carry him/her full term.(more…)
I’m excited to start a new series here on Emulsified Family called A Chef, A Wife and a Child. During the series I’ll be sharing about our life with children, but have asked other chefs’ wives to share their stories as well.
We all have different stories and different experiences about having a child with a chef. If you have children, or are thinking about it in the future, I hope you will be able to relate to one or more of us as we share our lives with you. I’ll also be talking a bit about miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy and infertility as so many of us struggle with those issues as well.
To those chef families who do not have children yet, having a child is often an overwhelming thought because of the long and crazy hours a chef works. And for those of us living it every day, there are ups and downs as we try and figure out how to combine restaurant and family life. Then there are those with grown children who have lived to tell about it. (Feel free to leave your advice in the comments!!)
So to start off the series, I thought we should start at the beginning. . . .
Until I lost my mother to cancer 12 years ago, I never knew Mother’s Day was a hard day for anyone. For me, it was a fun day to celebrate my Mom and my Mother-In-Law. While my chef/husband was always working, (hello busiest day of the year – no Mom wants to cook) we just chose another day to celebrate and that was that.
I have no idea why it never occurred to me that this would be a very hard day for so many women. My Mom lost her mother to cancer when I was 9 months old and my Dad lost his mother when I was 7. I’m sure all those Mother’s Days after they died were hard. But either I was oblivious and didn’t notice, or they did a pretty good job of hiding it from me. (more…)
Today would have been my Mom’s 66th birthday. We lost her to cancer 12 years ago.
You would think after 12 birthdays, 12 of my parent’s wedding anniversaries, 12 Mother’s Days, etc., it would get a lot easier, but it really hasn’t.
There are so many things that come flooding into my mind on these types of days: memories of being told she had cancer, seeing her suffer, seeing the helplessness in my Dad’s eyes, pleading with God to heal her or take her home to be with Him so she would no longer be suffering, feeling so alone and sad while home alone at night after she died, etc.
There are of course happy memories as well: family vacations, playing the piano and singing together, doing puzzles, playing with play-dough in the kitchen while she cooked dinner, etc.
Have you ever noticed that many people have gone through the same struggles as you have, but you never knew it until you started to talk about it? This happens to me all the time.
