up my sleeve

well, hello hello. long time no talk!

i first want to start off by saying welcome back. so sorry i have been absent for a while but, i hope you all had a wonderful month of love.

recently, a blogger friend of mine asked me to post about “how i do it all” – mommyhood, work, love, friendships, blogging and keeping family first. in the month of february i helped my little boy celebrate his 3rd birthday, held my beloved mimi’s hand while she fought for her life, watched one of my favorite couples tie the knot in beautiful roatan, honduras, and came to discover a new love for my job. all while trying my hardest to keep up my “social” life – twitter, blog updates, facebooks, instagram, pinterest – to name a few.

i felt like giving up. it was impossible to do it all. and then i realized i was being too hard on myself. i can’t do it all. i don’t have to do it all. i needed to focus on me and the things most important to me. so, i did just that. slowly, i realized that i really don’t “do” anything – we do.

sawyer, thank you for being the sweetest boy and therefore letting the hardest job in the world, motherhood, be just a little bit easier. watching you grow the past three years is just the beginning – you make me so proud.

the loss of my mimi left a hole in my family that will never be replaced. but, it doesn’t have to be because what she left behind – her love, stregnth, smarts, and simple way of looking at life – will be carried on forever. it shines brightly in my own mom who’s strength through this difficult time has been nothing short of amazing.

i am so lucky to be a part of the ericksen family. steve and anya, your wedding blew me away and the love you have for eachother inspires me. and a big thank you to my fiance, chris, for continuing to be by my side no matter what life throws at us. i cannot wait to marry you baby.

and lastly, i am honored to work for a company who gave me the time i needed to focus on all of these things. not only did they give me time off to be with my family when they needed me but, i felt like they were truly there with me along the way. the heartbeat of cisco clearly is its amazing people.

so, the answer to your question ms. marissa is quite simple. mommyhood, work, love, friendships, blogging and keeping family first is all made possible by those who share the ride with you. i want to thank all of you for reading, being patient and for being a part of the group that keeps me going. i hope you continue to join me for this crazy ride.

and now on to march, some normalcy and blogging! xo.