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Liz Melville's avatar

Lovely. Thank you for reminding me to not expect the cultural expectations for this day or life in general.

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Mary Hutto Fruchter's avatar

Thanks for reading. I remind myself on the reg of this.

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Heidi Hayes's avatar

This is so lovely. I just stumbled through my first Mother's Day and this resonates deeply. I am a Tuesday night person but I feel so much pressure to be a New Year's person. It's so easy to feel like I'm doing it wrong going at it my own way. Unfortunately there's a lot about being a new mom that makes me feel like I'm doing it wrong and screwing it all up. And if I don't figure it out I'm probably going to permanently damage this kiddo for his whole life 😭. Thanks for helping me feel heard and seen.

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Jen Zug's avatar

This is lovely - thank you for introducing me to Amy Kraus Rosenthal. Our first baby was born in March, so we were also fumbling through our first mother’s

day. I remember being angry most of the day 😂.

These days my young adult kids are close to home and we all still like each other, and that feels like the every day blessing we all need. This year for Mother’s Day my kids asked if I would be upset if they went to a movie together. “My kids being friends with each other and hanging out? Best MD gift ever!”

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Sandra de Helen's avatar

Good for you for doing the no mow May. You're out in the midwest, right? Neat and tidy lawns are de rigeur. I'm hoping this trend of natural yards will take over the entire nation. So much better to cater to the pollinators than to the landscapers who want to poison. (Not all do, of course.)

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Mary Hutto Fruchter's avatar

We were in Madison. Now, we are in the PNW, Eastern WA. My neighborhood is pretty embracing of all but it’s my own ish that I’m battling - ;)

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Sandra de Helen's avatar

I have no idea where I got Indiana from. Eastern Wa! Practically in my neck of the woods. If you have Certified Backyard Habitat gardens there (or a FB group), you might want to go visit. I did this last year (because I just started my backyard habitat last year), and these gardens are beautiful in a natural way. Our open gardens begin soon here and I hope to go visit more this year.

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Mary Hutto Fruchter's avatar

Yes, close to you which makes me hopeful we can see each other’s backyard habitats one day. Thank you for sharing all of these resources. I submitted the photo and inquired about joining some of the groups. We don’t have a local group but I think I can check out the Portland one and maybe participate in a Spokane gardening group.

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Sandra de Helen's avatar

I would love that!

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Celeste Davis's avatar

Oh my goodness I love Sara’s quote about Mother’s Day so much! Gonna go read the whole thing. Also your gecko looks like a miniature dinosaur and that’s awesome. Also I am a New Years kinda gal - my life is full of disappointment.

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Mary Hutto Fruchter's avatar

Taylor Swift and Vegas and poetry readings in the dark closet with candles- most def New Year’s Eve... it makes you super fun 🤩 Roxy is Anna’s and she is really an amazing little gal. Let me know what you think of Sara’s satire. It’s pretty great.

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Sherri's avatar

I loved Amy Krause Rosenthal’s book and finally ordered my own used copy last week...it should arrive in a few days...I’m

really looking forward to rereading it! 💜

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Mary Hutto Fruchter's avatar

I’m so glad! It is a keeper and one I return to regularly. I have a writing prompt I love to use with the book. If you are interested, I can share it with you.

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Sherri's avatar

I’d love to try out your writing prompt. 💜

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Mary Hutto Fruchter's avatar

I will email it to you tomorrow. 😊

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Mary Hutto Fruchter's avatar

Thanks for reading! I am so glad it helped you feel seen. I think new motherhood is one of the stages where we are at our most vulnerable so I appreciate you sharing your feelings here. There is so much new learning, and very little sleep and the darn hormones and the fear that we are f’ing it all up is real and loud. You are a great mom of that I am certain. Sometimes I wish I knew how to be kinder to myself in those early days.

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Mary Hutto Fruchter's avatar

How sweet of them to ask you. And yes, that’s amazing! I remember the rage on that first Mother’s Day too- I think it may have had to do with the hormones. I’m glad I am embracing a more relaxed approach too. This year my daughter started her first job- and was working Mother’s Day so it was my first one without her but I’m so proud of her and grateful for the conversations we have on the reg. My 12-year-old also made me an adorable card. It’s a good gig.

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Sandra de Helen's avatar

Have you submitted your bee photo to the New York Times for the Spelling Bee page? Because you should, it's an excellent photo.

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Mary Hutto Fruchter's avatar

Okay, that sounds really intriguing. I have not heard of the contest but I will look into it. Thank you! I have totally given over our small lawn to no mow May- talk about resisting cultural expectations - I think I can make it to the end of the month but it has been harder than I thought.

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May 14, 2023
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Mary Hutto Fruchter's avatar

Kate!!! So good to see you here and hear from you. So many things don’t quite work out how I imagine so yeah... Thank you for the whisper- that feeling is mutual. You are so thoughtful and so kind. And I’m so glad somebody else enjoyed that audio as much as me. I was dying laughing, and it felt pretty good to lose it like that.

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