Mom's Day

"If you bungle raising your children, I don't think whatever else you do well matters very much."

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis

Great, no pressure!  I'm hoping "bungle" here means getting them all to the age of 18 and out of the house with as few emotional scars as possible and with enough common sense to make life decisions on their own . . . yikes, scary.

Well, another Mother's Day has passed, another weekend to remember how blessed I am to have the opportunity to raise these kids and reflect on the divine gift of motherhood.  It was also one of the greatest Mother's Days on record!

For me, I love celebrating this holiday with my family . . . forget time alone, time getting a massage or pedicure, and forget any gifts that come from a store.  This year was just special.  In the past I think Chris was unsure about how to go tackle this holiday, and therefore at times just pretend it didn't exist, which was quite hurtful.  However, this year, he asked what I would like to do for Mother's Day, what would make me happy.  It was very sweet and I know he is making an effort to help me feel acknowledged on this day.  Of course, he always seems so surprised when my requests are so simple - in his words, "you are so easy to please - that's it?" 

One of the many cards made by Liza - this was my favorite.

Here is the rundown of my ideal Mom's Day weekend . . . 

an outing: dinner (Greek) and movie ("Oceans") with Chris and the kids which even included a stop for ice-cream on our way home (check), thoughtful homemade gifts and cards, and Ryan's sweet words during FHE (check), plenty of hugs and kisses (check), Chris taking over my church calling as primary pianist so I could attend the other meetings (check), a long phone conversation with my mom (check), Chris' grilled steak for Sunday dinner and his help in the kitchen (check), time outside in the sun watching the kids play and Chris work with Liza on her bike (check), and finally, the sweet acknowledgement from my dear husband of my contributions to our family and how much it means to them that I am their mother (aahhh, check). 

I ended the day snuggling on the couch listening to Liza read, then just holding her with her little arms wrapped tightly around my neck while gently rubbing her warm back under her pjs, and thinking how truly wonderful it is to be a mom, how blessed I've been to spend every day in the presence of these children, and how much I'll miss them dearly when they're gone.

This was the watercolor Sophie created for me - I LOVE it!