Monday, May 21, 2012

A little bit of sunshine......(this one is for Susan)


The week before Susan passed we met to talk about all of the possibilities...... One of the things she said to me that day and for so many weeks before was to "write that blog!" I made every excuse in the book as to why I did not have time to compose something worth reading. We even joked about the possibility of her writing for me but concluded that when a blog from "Amaya Papaya's mom" was writen it should be from me indeed. So here I am.

I'll start where I should have last week (that was my self given blog deadline) by wishing all of the moms a Happy Mothers Day (everyday) and by telling you the story of the Amaya Papaya Logo as written back in 2009 in my first blog......

As we take time to reflect on the importance of Mothering, I would like to share with you my inspiration for the Amaya Papaya name and logo. AMAYA PAPAYA is a TERM OF ENDEARMENT FOR MY DEAREST DAUGHTER (and best business partner ever) Amaya.

When I was pregnant with Amaya I dreaded the thought of getting STRETCH MARKS!! It was not until 2 days before I gave birth that the first stretch mark appeared, from that moment on they spread like wild fire! I was devastated (or so I thought, vain I know).

Once Amaya was born my favorite song to sing to her was MY GIRL by the Temptations. The first line was so true..."I got SUNSHINE on a cloudy day".... Amaya was truly my SUNSHINE in the mist of anything that I was going through as a new mom.

When Amaya began to speak she would ask me about the boo boo's on my belly. I would tell her that they where not boo boo's at all. I began telling her that the stretch marks where SUN RAYS that I was blessed with when she was inside my belly.

As I began to think of a logo for Amaya Papaya, I thought that nothing would be more fitting than the SUNSHINE to represent Amaya and every other child that a parent has been blessed with.

Ask Amaya....she will tell you how she put the SUNSHINE on mommy's belly..............

So fitting...........that post about the sunshine. Reminds of Susan ;) as well as all of the mommies that I see walk into the door at AP daily. As Susan so gently reminded me the week before she passed that she was my friend and not only my customer, I am reminded daily of the impact that each of you make here at AP. Amaya Papaya would not be what it is without you and I pray that you will continue to be a part of the AP community for years to come (yes, even after your child ages out of AP)

Continue...YES!....But where?......HERE!...Yep thats right I have decided to stay put at our current location for a few more years. My vision for AP is grand and in order to see them come to life I've decided to stay put and grow from here, in more ways that one ;) Over the next few months you will see some changes at AP with new Play Specialist and a New Manager with even more customer interaction and customer service than ever! I have great hopes for the future of AP and pray that you will continue to be a part of them.

Yolonda,

Amaya's mom