Happy Mother’s Day
I admit it freely, this is one of the best days of the year for me. A whole day dedicated to Mom’s!
I woke up this morning to a bed full of giggles, tail wags and the smell of coffee. There was Scott, Abigail, Megan and Guinness the Beagle Pup (who happens to be 50 pounds now!) all in bed with me. What a wonderful way to wake up. Abigail could hardly contain herself as she pulled her hand made gifts for me out of her hiding place, that just happened to be under our bed. What a funny kid…Mom’s room is always safe so lets hide Mom’s gifts under her bed (what place could be better right?). Thanks to her wonderful kindergarten teacher sixteen mom’s got the sweetest cookbooks and hand decorated pots with little aloe plants in them. When I was younger I couldn’t figure out what was so great about hand made stuff, twenty some years later it is crystal clear that it is all about those little hands making something “just right” for Mommy. I am not too proud to admit that in our cramped giggling bed this morning I was warmed to the soul and brought to tears. I could tell that she took her time writing out the card she made me for Mother’s Day. If I had to guess, I would safely bet that it was the exact same cut out rose glued to pink construction paper that I made for my Mom almost twenty four years ago. It will be tucked in a box under my bed along with all the other little tokens she has made for Scott and I and in another twenty four years I bet it will still make me cry.
Mother’s Day is not just about me though. It is about all Moms. More importantly, my Mom. Anyone who knows me, and I mean really knows anything about me, knows that my Mom is my hero. She is the woman who worked long full time hours as a nurse (and still does), raised my older brother, myself and my two younger sisters all while being a farmers wife. If you have never lived on a farm or been married to a farmer you don’t have a clue what that last statement means so just take my word for it…it’s no cake walk. She is the woman who cares for everyone in our family. When I say everyone I really mean it. She takes care of her mother and oldest sister, helps my Dad’s mother, is there for all her siblings, my dad’s siblings, her friends and all of us kids, our spouses and our children at the drop of a hat. Talk about a full plate. How she does it all is beyond me. She is probably the strongest woman I know and will ever meet in my life. If I can be a tenth of the woman she is I will be happy. She has gone from; “my mom who makes me clean my room every weekend”, to “my mom who can’t understand what it’s like to be a teenager” (sorry for those teenage angst years Mom!), to my best friend. My mom was there with Scott and I the very second both our daughters took their first breath. From that moment she has been a rock for both Scott and I. She knows what I am worrying about or thinking even before I do most times. She knows what to say to soothe me or my kids even when I think nothing will. She listens to me complain and comforts me when I cry. She is there to share in the largest of milestones and the simplest of joys. She loves all of us unconditionally. I wish everyone could have a mother like mine.
Abigail asked me today if I knew how much she loved me. My reply, “Yes Ab, I do.” “I love my Mommy just like you love me.” We ended with an Eskimo kiss and that deep in your bones sort of love and she skipped off yet again, with my heart in her hands.
Happy Mother’s Day!
You are my Hero Mom. I love you.
Mothers hold their children’s hands for just a little while…and their hearts forever.
~Irish Proverb~