We all met at my parent’s home for brunch and my parents recognized that this was, my first Mother’s Day, as I was finally becoming a Mother. They gave me a wooden mother and baby sculpture that my brother had sent from Thailand (I have a matching one of a husband and wife). Eric presented me with a gorgeous necklace and earring set that he had chosen on a recent trip to Paris. However, Eric’s mother did not even say Happy Mother’s Day to me and it hurt me deeply.

In my mind I was already a mother even though my child was not in my arms and we had not been to court. Although it was not official yet, I had met my child, I had held my child, played with him, giggled with him, even already been hit by him. Although I was not pregnant or had not given birth I was a mom and this was my first Mother’s Day.

So, gentlemen and ladies, I challenge you. Make sure all of your wives or significant others are recognized as mothers. Every woman who has given birth or is waiting for a child, either inside their womb, inside someone else’s womb, in a foster home, or in an orphanage is a mother.

Photo by Eric Pickelsimer

Post from: Blisstree

Your First Mother’s Day

The Hermitage, is by tradition, one of the most prominent museums of art and I feel lucky to have had the opportunity to have visited and toured with a guide who knew so much about the museum and the works of art it showcased.

Post from: Blisstree

The Hermitage

The Neva River is an essential part of St. Petersburg’s charm. Many generations of locals and visitors to the city have been completely enraptured by long, evening walks along the banks of the Neva during the city’s famous White Nights. Very few things can be more romantic than strolling along the Neva’s granite-clad embankments and admiring the city’s open bridges, the marvelous architecture and the large ships as they pass by.

In this picture I am standing on the Nevsky Bridge, which leads to Nevsky Prospekt. I had to photoshop this picture quite a bit because of the sunlight and the glare from the river so it is not the best picture…equalizing really ruins the entire thing.

Post from: Blisstree

River Neva