From Fatima to Hunter

Really nice pointed pen work from Fatima. The stamps look really nice with the gold ink.

***

Today is my daughter's 40th birthday. 28 years ago, when I turned 40, Mr Wilson took the three kids out shopping and bought 40 greeting cards. They signed them all, addressed them, put stamps on them, and mailed them the day before my birthday. It was one of the best birthday presents ever. It was 4 years before I even learned about mail art. Mr Wilson does not recall how he came up with the idea. I think it was some kind of cosmic message implanted by some postal force that humans do not even understand. 

I've had all kinds of ideas for my daughter's 40th birthday. Sadly, I did not complete a single one. I saw a really practical jacket on sale and mailed it to her with some sugar free chocolate from our favorite chocolatier. Boring. I'm not sure why I dropped the ball. Maybe I can think of some fun stuff to mail in Jan and Feb. Her kids have Nov 9 and Dec 17 birthdays - so with 3 family birthdays + Christmas all at the same time -- they are saturated with stuff.

IG is full of messages for mommies to not be so hard on themselves. I think a lot of us never get over questioning whether we did or are doing things in the most constructive way possible. It can get exhausting to continually be second guessing.

On the other hand -- every time I meet a mommy who is so sure they know exactly how to parent, my immediate response (in my head, I would never say it out loud) is:

That's actually scary.

It's like *my way or the highway.*

Pretty much the opposite of how I see things.

But -- maybe it works for them.

We need a second picture today.

I'll explain it tomorrow.