Tag Archives: Thomas A Darnell

He Swam Into the World on November 13, 2005

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… And continues to give the gift of himself every minute of every day …

Some people say, “I can’t believe (s)he is already 8 years old.” I think to myself, “I cannot believe he is only 8 years old!”

Having not been able to give birth to Lillian at The Birthing Center, I was so excited to be able to deliver Thomas there and for it to be a water birth also.

Honestly, I had a rougher pregnancy with Thomas than Lillian. He was absolutely healthy, but I felt horrible. I was so nauseas and tired the entire time.

In the late afternoon on November 13th, I began having contractions. Naturally, I decided that this was the very time I had to get caught up with the Wall Street Journal print editions I had gotten behind with reading! There I was pacing around the house reading WSJ and stopping to have contractions in between!

We met the midwife at the birthing center about 9:00 pm. Things were moving along pretty quickly as I was doing my best to stay relaxed so that things could progress. After she checked us both and filled the huge bathtub with water, I got right in. I was having tremendous labor pain in my back but kept visualizing this young man making his exit and relieving me of my pain!

I didn’t have to wait too long as he moved his way right along and joined us pretty quickly! After waiting for my temperature to get back to normal, the three of us made the 10 minute drive home. It was about midnight when we arrived and Lillian was sleeping so she got to meet Thomas the next morning!

Today, November 13, 2013, on HIS special day he came and got me, told me to close my eyes and led me to his room. He said he had a gift for me. When I got to his room I removed my hand from my eyes and he had beautifully made his bed! Take my breath away … HE had a gift for ME on HIS special day! This was more of a gift than a nicely made bed.

I feel that ALL children are a gift and that some of us fail to see the gift they bring to us. Not on purpose. We just seem to forget all that we knew about life when we were young. As some of us get older, we lose the pure love, compassion and generosity that were our nature during childhood.

In the beginning of motherhood I did not get this or choose to see and receive the gift. Being in my 12th year now with this parenting journey, coupled with my own awakening and learning journey, I see it so vividly.

Almost daily I have moments where a gesture or words spoken by Thomas bring forth the feeling that time does not exist, we are engulfed in a wave of silence and I have just been given a lesson that I needed right at that very moment.

By the words of wisdom and gestures I share with him, I am teaching these things to myself. For this young man doesn’t just act like he’s listening, he comprehends my words and actions and shares it with me at a different moment in time.

Yesterday he asked so gently if he could have an ice cream as a birthday treat while we waited for Lillian to finish her therapies. I reminded him we had ice cream at home and that he could have some. He said, “Okay, that sounds good.”

Lillian’s therapy center is only seconds from the fast food place that has soft serve ice cream. After I parked, I filled my mind with thoughts of abundance and generosity and changed my mind. After all, it was only a $1 cone.

Thomas had gotten out to play so I asked if he still wanted that ice cream cone. As I turned into the parking lot a homeless person was sitting on the curb.

In addition to ordering the ice cream for Thomas, I ordered a chicken burger. At least, I think it was me. I felt an overwhelming urge to order that burger and give it to the person we had just passed. I had Thomas hand it to him as we pulled next to him. I have NEVER done this before.

The man thanked us many times. As we drove off, I told Thomas that it doesn’t matter the reason that man is sitting there or even if he is really homeless. I felt moved to share kindness and I did.

I explained that we never want to NOT share kindness due to judgment of another or for fear that our kindness will not be well received. Once we perform an act of kindness it’s really no longer our business. I’m sure Thomas will remind me of this beautiful moment just when I need it most.

“The sage is kind to the kind and kind to the unkind.” -Lao Tzu

My heart is so full of love for Thomas. It adds to my own love of self and truly causes my heart to skip a beat at times. No matter what paths he chooses for his journey or where it leads him, I will always love him.

This amazing child with his wise old soul has brought much into my life. I am blessed daily by his presence, his love, his wisdom and his humor. I LOVE that I get to be his mentor and his mother and that HE gets to be my mentor and son! We knew what we were doing when we chose one another for this journey.

You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one …. And … It’s really none of my business what you think of me … xoxo

 

The Team TLC Bucket Lists

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Some people call them bucket list. I choose to give it a different spin. Team TLC is calling ours an Adventure List! That’s right! Last week I gave a map book to Thomas and Lillian and told them to make a list of everywhere in the World they want to visit. Then I told them to make a list of everything they want to have, be or do.

The following is my Adventure List. It’s continually being added to so I will designate a dedicated page on this website for our Adventure Lists.

This is a list of experiences I want to have, be or do. They are in absolutely no particular order. I simply write them down as inspired.

Let me be clear. I make this list with detachment. If I get to experience these items then WooooHooooo. If not, then WoooooHoooooo. I’m still a happy and peaceful person. The way I see it, my happiness comes from within.

Camilla’s Adventure List:

  1. Dance in a theatrical play
  2. Look for 4 leaf clovers in a beautiful warm meadow with a light breeze
  3. Vacation or temporarily live in a house on a quiet lake with warm non-humid temperature
  4. Have my own garden and grow food
  5. Learn to and play a woodwind instrument
  6. Experience a natural/mineral hot spring
  7. Dance in the street … perhaps to Cindy Lauper’s “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” 😉
  8. Have honeysuckle growing in my yard
  9. ✔Vacation in Tahiti – Done
  10. Receive in the mail a legitimate check made out to ME for 6 figures or more
  11. Live in a bungalow over the ocean in the South Pacific for 1-3 months or longer
  12. Go on a tropical cruise with Thomas and Lillian
  13. Learn how to paint and create at least one inspired painting
  14. ✔Experience natural child birth – Done … Twice!
  15. Live or vacation in a cabin in the woods for at least one month if not longer.
  16. Start a flash mob dancing to Lady GaGa’s “Born This Way” and “We Are Family”
  17. Milk a cow ….. Hug a cow (updated March 2019)
  18. ✔Visit England and Scotland – Done
  19. Be on a stage in front of thousands of people and at the least inspire and encourage them to ponder how they are choosing to think and at the most create a positive shift in their life
  20. “For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul.” -Judy Garland … Be in a soulful relationship …
  21. Live on a boat for at least a month or longer
  22. Pick apples in an apple orchard
  23. ✔Live in Reno – Done
  24. Collect fresh honey … visit a bee farm
  25. Live in a beach cottage on the beach in southern California and Florida
  26. Learn and practice yoga
  27. Anonymously and randomly share with and help others
  28. ✔Get a degree – Done
  29. Picnic in a field of wildflowers
  30. Have morning coffee on a beach while watching the sun rise
  31. Have a full and uninterrupted month to myself to read and write … if not longer
  32. ✔Make stretch bracelets that mirror food, flowers and nature – Done
  33. Experience a cross country train ride with Thomas and Lillian
  34. Visit Greece
  35. ✔Own an almost new Cadillac – Done
  36. Go kayaking in Lake Tahoe and Washoe Lake
  37. Hike the Tahoe Rim trail with Thomas
  38. Live in a luxury hotel for at least a few months
  39. Visit as many libraries as possible in the United States
  40. Spend at least 3 months exploring California
  41. ✔Be a Paralegal for 10 years – Done
  42. Learn and play lawn bowling
  43. Learn and play shuffle board
  44. Have orange, lemon and lime trees in my yard
  45. Live in a tree house for at least 3 months – Swiss Family Robinson style
  46. Live on an island in a hut for at least 3 months – Gilligan’s Island style
  47. Have an Airstream. Travel to beaches, lakes and campgrounds for a while.
  48. Live in a  town that’s so small you can walk to and from anywhere you need to go
  49. Visit Walden Pond
  50. ✔Own and live in a 3 story house – Done
  51. Have a comfortable chair swing hanging from a nice big shade tree
  52. Stay or live in a place that has an outdoor living area with a view of the ocean
  53. Stay or live in a place that has an outdoor living area with a view of a meadow
  54. Attend and have fun at a luau on the beach
  55. Anonymously gift a vacation or some sort of respite/relaxation package to a family or person
  56. Vacation or live in a lighthouse for at least 3 months
  57. ✔ Live in a tiny home (We have lived in a 1 bedroom/1 bath 810 square foot condo from August 2015 – to current) Done
  58. See our Team TLC Bucket Lists page for further updates …

Thomas’ Adventure List:

  1. Make new Lego thing
  2. Plant my plant
  3. Find proof to see if aliens are real
  4. Find cool car
  5. Write a book
  6. Decorate sandals
  7. Laugh at beach
  8. Make lock
  9. Make device
  10. Receipt Machine
  11. Nintendo
  12. Northern California – Beach, Hotel and Sunset
  13. Las Vegas – Performance and Lights
  14. Florida – Disneyland
  15. China – Cool!
  16. Texas – Hot!
  17. Hawaii – Hula Dance and Water
  18. Georgia
  19. Louisiana

Lillian’s Adventure List:

  1. California – Lake Tahoe
  2. Florida – Sunshine
  3. Georgia – Dolphins
  4. Hawaii – Hula Dancing
  5. Indiana
  6. Maine
  7. Helena, MO – gemstone
  8. West Virginia – Marbles

Thomas and Lillian are still adding to their lists. They’re still getting the hang of all this!

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Team TLC Custom Stretch Bracelets

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My 7 year old son, Thomas, and 11 year old daughter, Lillian discovered my stash of beads in the garage. I went through a short lived period in 2007 making stretchy bracelets as a creative outlet. They have decided they will make bracelets to earn money to attend the 2013 Chromosome 18 Conference this July in Savannah, Georgia!

Each bracelet is custom made when you order. Team TLC bracelets are made with different combinations of Swarovski crystals, fresh water pearls in beautiful, traditional, cool and funky colors, nut beads, lava beads, hematite beads, and much more. Not all beads previously listed will be used in each bracelet. We decide how and which beads to use for creating your bracelet according to your favorite colors. You can also choose to have an acrylic or Czech Pressed Glass Bead number 18 included on the bracelet.

Visit The Team TLC website to learn more about the bracelets and visit the article titled “Why It Matters” to learn more about why this is so important to us …..