A friend asked me today what I'd be doing for Mother's Day this year. Apparently, per my 4-year-old's request, I'll be making bows and boxes and wrapping...So I can get a recycled toy from my daughters. How green of them.
Later on, another friend implored me to enjoy these times, because, in her words, "...when they are sixteen they'll act like they don't even KNOW you. They won't even CARE that it's Mother's Day. Trust me!" Wow. So I'm going from wrapping my own used puzzle with half the pieces missing to being completely ignored. That's Mother's Day, huh?
No.
Mother's Day to me is a special day because it makes me slow down and think about what it means to be a mother. Yes, I'll honestly admit that I hope to get a few extra minutes of sleep, a scribbly handmade card, and an extra-delicious cappuccino. But my day isn't going to be spent drinking mimosas or at a spa or wearing heels at some fancy restaurant. It's going to be spent with the two little beauties who made me a Mama. Thinking about the amazing love we have between us, and how it came to be. Questioning how I could ever be so fortunate to have the most rewarding job in the world...a mother. Emmie and Rosie's mother. I'll also be thinking about Emmie's two mothers in China, and Rosie's one, and how their birthmothers made the ultimate sacrifice. I'll be wondering how in the world I'd ever be able to navigate this minefield that is motherhood without my own precious mother to help me every step of the way. Remembering my Nana who raised two children, and opened her loving heart and her home to countless foster children. Thinking about my other Nana who raised five children, and wondering how she did it.
Truthfully, no matter how we celebrate the day tomorrow, I'm pretty certain my present came tonight. I was knocked down with some stomach bug out of the blue, and the heartfelt tenderness and love my girls showed me was the sweetest thing to witness. They brought all of their favorite dolls to lay on the couch with me. They made me about 10 cards. They covered me with stickers. They "read" stories to me. They decorated the room I was relaxing in. They kissed my belly over and over to make it feel better. They even did a musical performance for me. (Goodness, it's just a stomach bug that will hopefully be over in 24 hours!) Watching them work as a team and snap to action as soon as I said I felt crummy, hatching plans about how to make me feel better and what surprises to bring me made my heart nearly explode. This is what being a mother is about. This is my reward and my present for taking care of these girls the very best I can day in and day out. And no present wrapped up in a box, no champagne brunch, is better than this.
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| Getting serenaded by the dollies. |
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| A performance in plain clothes just isn't a performance. So they had a costume change and really belted out "Mary Had a Little Lamb." The extended remix version. |
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| "We're taking care of you, " Rosie said over and over. Jeez, gals, it's just a stomach bug that will be gone tomorrow! |
So tomorrow we'll enjoy some time as a family, probably doing some of the girls' favorite things as well as mine. I know I'll get all teary-eyed watching their excitement as I help the girls wrap and then unwrap my "gift." I'll look at this beautiful family that my husband and I worked so hard to make and feel like the luckiest woman alive. I'll tell my own mom for the zillionth time how I finally get it. I really, truly understand and appreciate everything she did for us. All of the days spent caring for us. All of the nights spent worrying about us. And, most importantly, the complete joy we have brought to her life. Because there is nothing at all in the world like being a mother. Nothing even comes close.
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| Moments of sweet perfection... |
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| It doesn't get better than this. |
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