Happy Birthday Brianna - Brianna's Version

 This birthday finds Brianna, 

an OG Swiftie, 

in her

MOM ERA.

                                                                               

                                                                

Last October 3rd, 

Brianna and Christian 

became the proud new parents to 

Griffin Paul 

and we are all forever

"Enchanted"

with their bundle of love. 

Brianna’s ERA, 

however, 

may be a tad different than Taylor's. 

Taylor's ERAS Tour, 

(which Brianna attended in Boston

with Griffin-to-be...aka Griffin-to-Bri)

is

                                                                  

 a worldwide tour

with millions of Swifties,

clamoring for Taylor 

crying,

adoring,

and 

hanging on her every word…

BUT 

... "ready for it?"

Bri has that.

Bri has her own version...

"Brianna’s version"…

Baby Griffin 

crying out for her, 

watching her every move,

living and breathing in everything she does,

loving and adoring the rock star 

that Brianna truly is.  

Griffin cherishes his 

"Superstar" Mom.

The wonderful thing is that MeMe and Hop 

have a front row seat 

during this ERA… 

watching our "baby" take care of her baby…

which brings back all the feels for us…

to see Brianna with her own cherub

and remembering sweet Bri 

who made our family complete 

beyond our 

"Wildest Dreams."

                                                                          Baby Griffin has Bri's hair color

Anywhooo……

There is an old family photo I love of the 5 of us... 

a 4 x 6 snapshot of us holding hands on Manomet Beach 

walking toward the Point.  

The year was 1999 and 

the world was headed into Y2K 

with all the uncertainly of what the new century would bring. 

 

What I LOVE most about this 

"Story of Us" 

picture is 

sweet Brianna looking back. 

It only seems fitting that as you move toward the future…

you take a moment to look back from where you came 

and reflect.

With a look back, 

you are able to see how far you have come. 

And what a surprise to me…

when I first saw this wedding photo of 

Brianna and Christian…

again, with Brianna looking back. 

 The newly married couple 

looking forward to the new life they would create together…

with a glance back to where their

"Love Story"

began.

  One day, Bri will look back at her new mom era and 

remember 

all Griffin’s firsts and 

the feels of her first

in her arms…

and nothing could feel better.

Griffin is one lucky boy to have this rockstar as his mom…

and knowing Bri, 

she will continue to rock it.

This is her MOM ERA...

and

Brianna totally owns it.

We are forever in Bri's fandom.

Happy Birthday Sweet Wish (Queen of America)

We hope you have 

"The Best Day."

We love you...

"Forever and Always."

P.S.

Mama, "Look what you made me do”

The Totality of the Eclipse

 Maybe you were in the path of totality..

lucky enough to see the Total Eclipse of the Sun.  

(Cue the song, "Total Eclipse of the Heart" by Heart.) 

I was totally not in the path of totality,

 in addition...it was totally cloudy.  

So I was totally bummed.

I was even prepared with viewing glasses 

given to me by a nice woman in line at Walgreens.

The sky did get darker, 

but it was already on the dark side to begin with.

So instead, I had to experience it through

social media posts and 

news coverage.

 I heard about the awe, wonder and pure magic of it all;

how people were emotional

and some brought to tears. 

Many felt it was a unifying connection to nature and 

to each other;

a shared experience of the same thing 

at the same time.

Some thought of those who had passed 

and 

some were reminded of the first moon landing.

Even though I was physically 

removed from the experience, 

I was emotionally locked in…

experiencing it through their accounts.

Anywhoooo…..

For me, the power of the solar eclipse

 was that it got us to look up…

LOOK UP from our phones. 

 

And that isn’t easy to do.  

For a few minutes…

we looked to the sky, 

away from our distractions on earth…

and acknowledged a higher power above.

The immensity of the celestial event 

emphasized our smallness.

 It was a reminder of 

our shared humanity and 

our connection 

to something bigger than ourselves.

Whether it was with 

a scientific eye 

or a

religious heart…

we looked up. ↑

With our faces turned toward 

the sky 

and the heavens…

 WE LOOKED UP 

with anticipation.  

And we were….

totally 

united 

under 

one Sun 

and 

one God.