New Blog: Happiness

For years I had my beloved getrealmama.blogspot.com blog.  I started writing in 2009 as I was adjusting to my role as a mom of two little boys.  I shared my stories of toddler tantrums, pregnancy, play dates  and preschool drama faithfully through 2015.  It was an outlet for creativity and humor as well as a way to reach out to the larger world when mine felt small, as I was hovering between stay at home and work from home status.  My writing slowly began to taper off, with the addition of my third child, and my eventual return to full time work.  However it wasn't just a lack of time that kept me from blogging, it was... a lack of inspiration.  At the end of a long day of juggling work and kiddos, I didn't have anything left.

I have missed writing. While I know I will likely never be a great author, I enjoy playing with words, and sharing emotion, thoughts and life with others.  I thought about going back to getrealmama, yet it didn't feel right.  Life has changed.  I no longer am immersed in the culture of diaper bags and story time. With older children, I feel a new responsibility to respect my boy's privacy, and I feel that I can no longer share every-little-detail about my growing young men.  So I decided I needed a fresh start, thus, Three Little Birds or, sadly, threelilbirdz since apparently I am not the only one laying claim to the domain.

Why Three Little Birds?  First, the obvious reason:  my three boys, Zachary (11), Evan (8) and Julian (5.) Second, I kind of have a thing for birds, not in the actual bird-watching, interest in the species sort of way, but rather in the symbolic sense.  Birds come in many different shapes, sizes, and colors, and most importantly they have the freedom of flight, taking to the sky, seeing the world from above, covering great distances, all with an elegant grace.  I even have three little birds tattooed on my left shoulder, a physical representation of my children that is far prettier than the deep c-section scar they left behind.

 And finally,  who can forget Bob Marley's cheerful little song, "Three Little Birds?"  In fact the very idea for this blog came to me on a sunny winter day last month.  I was in a particularly bad mood, as I headed to catch the train into work, when that catchy little tune suddenly popped into my head, making me think of sunny beach days, margaritas, and simple happiness.  "Don't worry, about a thing, cause every little thing, is gonna be alright"   And I have decided this is my new mantra.  I have a tendency to be pessimistic, to get stressed out by the little things, to get, dare I say, a little dark from time to time... and I am bound and determined to release some of that heaviness, and focus on the things that make me happy.  Three Little Birds. My  Three Little Birds.  A sunny morning. A pretty latte, a great glass of wine, an afternoon with a friend.  I have found it easy to sweat the small stuff of life, to get wrapped up in the day to day stress of living.  I think in fact, it may be harder work to be happy, to find the good in every day, to move forward when things feel hard.

Thus this blog is my commitment to happiness. I don't expect it to always be easy. And believe me, the last thing I want this blog to become is a site for inspirational quotes.  (There is seriously nothing I dislike more than a sappy, well-meaning inspirational quote.)   What you can expect from me here is honesty, a bit of sarcasm, and a view of a 40-something, working mom of three, working at happiness, because somethings are just worth the effort.