Happy 13th Monet
June is a birthday explosion at our house with all three of us in my family celebrating our birthdays within 2 weeks of each other. We spent the month celebrating each other in the most beautiful and wonderful ways with Monet having the biggest surprise of us all. I can hardly believe that is has been 13 years since I became a mother. I can tell you that June 24th, 2000 was THE GREATEST DAY of my entire life. It was my greatest desire to become a mother when I grew up and it is still my greatest JOY! The moment I took my first look into her eyes I felt a love that swallowed me up and took up residence in my heart. I had never known a love so powerful and true. Everything else became less important that this child that I was given to raise and love. She has been my greatest joy, my teacher, my inspiration and the love of my life. Being Monet's mother has stretched me to want to be a better person, to forgive, to accept, to let go of all the small stuff and to focus on our time together. She has taught me to be present each day and not take our time together for granted. She is thoughtful, compassionate, spirited and strong, creative and pure entertainment. I love sharing my life with her, being her mother and her teacher. I am so grateful for her life and presence in mine and I look forward to all our adventures that lie ahead!
I was grateful to be able to pull off an incredibly fun surprise for Monet's 13th birthday a few weeks ago with the help of my brother Steven and my partner Paul. 13 is a special birthday and I wanted to give Monet something that we would remember forever so I surprised her with a trip to New York City. She has been dying to come with us to the city and so we gave her a NYC trip she won't forget.
I told her a little white lie and asked if she minded that our shopping date get cut short so we could pick up a friend from the airport. She was sweet and agreed. When we arrived I asked her to help me clean out the trunk and when she opened the trunk....there were our bags packed!
We hopped on a plane and our adventure began. It was a week we will never forget. We celebrated from morning till night with concerts, cupcakes, train rides, subways, shopping, NYC pizza and so much more. We got to show her Electric Lady Studios where my partner works and where so many amazing artists create music. We went to the Met and spent a day at the museum. It has always been one of favorite things to do together and it was SO amazing to see her face light up when she saw her first Monet in person! I am so grateful to my partner Paul and to my brother Steven for making this trip happen for us. We had so much FUN together. She is a joy to travel with and to experience life with.
On a photography note, this trip inspired me to start shopping for a personal camera to use for travel. I took as many photos as I could fit on my iphone but that just isn't going to cut it. I'm in the market for a sweet small camera so I don't miss all the good photo ops when we travel.
Happy Birthday Monet! Let the teenage years begin!!! I used to be so afraid of this time but I have no fear over this anymore. I have an amazing daughter and I'm looking forward to sharing this next phase of our lives together, growing and learning from each other. I love you my sweet!!
