You are my Sunshine

My only sunshine.

My mom and dad both sang that song to me growing up. Now I sing it to Crosby.

And, the other day I heard it on a Whirlpool commercial. Have you seen this commercial? I cry every time I watch it, near the end, when the narrator delivers this universal truth:

Because every act of care we give, helps the people we love, become people who love.

I think of all the small acts of care I perform everyday every, from fixing meals, fixing sippy cups, wiping a little hiney, rocking to sleep, to the bigger acts of care like administering enzymes and daily respiratory therapy. We go to bed, then wake up and do it all over again. Some acts of care are more insignificant than others. But it's all care. And it's all for love.

Those moments I spend caring for my little dude are way more important than all the other stuff. Because for every mom there comes a time, when babies grow up & grow out of our arms. I know it's coming. I know someday, the hours I logged holding Crosby and caring for him, will feel like it wasn't enough.

Crosby really is my sunshine. 

So i'll pour my cup out for him today, and then get up tomorrow and pour it out again, because I know that's what love really is. And someday, he'll know it too.

If you're reading on email or your phone, here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiV6L7d8CY4

Love,

Carmen

Walk with The Crosby Show

The date has been set for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's Great Strides Campaign: Saturday, May 16th at 8AM!

If you joined The Crosby Show last year for the walk, you know how much fun it was and we hope you will join us again. 

If you weren't able to make it last year, please consider signing up and joining our team!

You can either join The Crosby Show for the walk or simply make a donation to anyone already signed up to the team. To sign up, just follow the link below to visit my Great Strides home page and click on "Join My Team!" Then, follow the step-by-step instructions to register for the walk.

http://fightcf.cff.org/site/TR/GreatStrides/9_Arkansas_Little_Rock?team_id=29588&pg=team&fr_id=3130

Great Strides is the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's largest national fundraising event, with tens of thousands of people coming together at walks across the country each year to help find a cure for CF. Great Strides is family-friendly events with food, fun, and music and will be held at the Little Rock Zoo.

One of the best moments of my entire life was at last year's Great Strides walk. After a tough first six months after Crosby's diagnosis, so many of you showed up for the walk to support us and our little dude. Before the walk, when we all gathered for a group photo, I stepped out in front to see the group as a whole and to show Crosby all his "fans." I literally had to choke back the tears when I turned around to look at that group! I was overcome with emotion by everyone in the group, a group of people who care about my son, care about his life and showed up to say, "we're with you." It was a wonderful WONDERFUL moment... PLEASE BE THERE AGAIN.

I want Crosby to always know that he is never alone in his fight. And joining Great Strides is a simple and effective way for you to show your support for Crosby and his battle against CF.

Great Strides is the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's largest national fundraising event. By joining The Crosby Show team, you will help fuel lifesaving research and medical programs that make a difference for people living with this disease, people like Crosby. We would love for you to make a donation, but you don't have to in order to sign up for the walk. Registration is free! 

{Several people have asked about registering as a family for the walk or registering their kids. Please note that everyone participating in the walk MUST be registered. If you would like to register as a family without having to do so on an individual basis, please note that you can do so on the webpage after you have entered in your initial contact information. The following page has an option to "Register a Family Member." You can use this option to register your spouse or kids under the same user name/email address/ect.} 

Join us.


Help add tomorrows for Crosby.


Walk for him.

Walk Details
Date: 16-May-15
Check-in: 7:00 AM
Walk: 8:00 AM
Distance: 1 mile
Chapter: Arkansas - Little Rock
Event Location: Little Rock Zoo,
Little Rock, AR

A Break for 2015

Welcome 2015!

And Happy New Year to the viewers of The Crosby Show.

We had some great family time over the holidays and now here we are over half a month into the new year.

I didn't make a new year's resolution this year. Instead, I came up with a mantra for this year.

This year, I want to just give myself a break. I can be (and I think it's true for most women) my own worst critic. And let me tell you, I am a harsh critic!

I criticize myself on the physical. Sometimes, I look in the mirror and focus on all the things that need to be "fixed." You know when you stand there after a shower in various stages of nakedness and you analyze and get depressed? This part needs to be firmer. This needs to be thinner. This needs to be smoother. If only this were like this or like that. Or when you get up close and personal examining your face, pores, and lines? I need to give my self a break from ALL of that. This year, when I look in the mirror and I want to be filled with gratitude. I need to banish the negative and instead send a shout-out up to heaven, thankful that I have a healthy heart and a strong enough set of lungs and legs to run. I need to be grateful that this body was able to carry a baby past 40 weeks and nurse him for 14 months. Unfortunately, old habits die hard and I have already found myself breaking this mantra. But I am determined to say at least one nice thing to myself every time an ugly thought surfaces. Give myself a break from, well, myself.

I also need to give myself a break on parenting. I'm not a perfect mom. I don't always do the right thing or choose the right way. But I do my best and my intentions are always good and true. I need to have confidence in what I know, in my intuition and then own what I do. Crosby is happy and healthy, and so what if I make a mistake, have to say I am sorry? He's thriving and I give him my absolute best. I'm still working on me, but hopefully with God's help, I can foster a little independent mind and shape a little heart to be set on Him. 

Giving myself a break also means trying to stop comparing myself to other women. It is sad and true, and I am most certainly guilty of it. Social media, like Instagram and Pinterest, can really fan the fire of comparison and sends me down the road of emotionally abusing myself over something I love about someone in those pictures, and that I lack. She's prettier, I need to wear cuter outfits. Look at her gorgeous hair, I need to cut mine. I can't cook like that, I work during the week. My home isn't as organized. I don't dress my baby in as cute of clothes. We don't take as awesome photos. It goes on and on. Comparing myself to others just makes me feel inadequate, lesser and inferior, whether its comparing how you look or how you raise your children. And none of that shit matters. Not really.

I think a lot of women experience insecurity through out their lives. For me, since becoming a mother, I feel like my flaws or feelings of being lesser in comparison are heightened. Maybe it is the hormones, maybe it is the urge to be the best for Crosby and Lance, or maybe it is just part of being a human. Whatever it is, I need to give myself a break. 

I need to remind myself that while nothing is wrong with trying to be better, or to strive for greatness, I am flawed. I am imperfect. And that's ok.

 

Love,

Carmen