Yesterday as I sat watching Sassy play in a softball tournament, Smiley came bounding over and exclaimed, "Mom tomorrow we might make breakfast for you! Might."
Her excitement for the day and sweet thought regarding breakfast was adorable. I loved that her little 5 year old brain understood that there was a definite possibility that breakfast would not be made for me and I shouldn't get my hopes up.
She was right. I woke this morning before everyone, took our dog for a walk, showered, woke up one child after another. When everyone was dressed and ready, we were out the door for 9am church. Oh, and breakfast? For me that consisted of a yogurt (the kids and hubby ate left over cinnamon rolls).
Church was nice, and the kids didn't bug each other which is a gift of itself! Following church we attempted to go out for brunch and were turned down at two restaurants as they were only taking those who had reservations, something we didn't have. We threw in the towel and came home. I was gifted ~ a "cook book" from Smiley that her preschool teachers put together. Each child told their teacher one of their favorite recipes that their mom makes. Smiley? Her addition was Peanut Butter and Jelly. I must tell you the directions as told by Smiley:
"My Mom puts peanut butter on a bread with a knife. She gets another bread and puts jelly on top of the other bread. She puts it on a plate and cuts it in half. I like water and Cheetos with it."
Yes, I am all things gourmet ~ can't you tell :)
Action wrote me a poem and drew a picture (he would be embarrassed if I posted the lovely sentiments on here).
Sassy made me a card.
All of them gave me flowers (actually I came home from a girls night out on Friday with a bouquet of beautiful flowers awaiting me on the kitchen island) and a fitbit (which I have been interested in and absolutely did NOT expect).
I do not expect gifts. I do not expect to be pampered. Is it nice? Yes. Is it thoughtful? Yes. I love seeing the gifts the kids make for me and the excitement on their faces as they exclaim "Happy Mother's Day!"
I have many different women in my life and each of them has a different expectation of mother's day.
And just like these many different expectations, there are many different kind of Mothers. Some good mothers, some not so good. On the flip side, there are so many who want to be Mothers, would give anything to have a child to hold in their arms, to call their own. There are Mother's who have lost a child or children. And, simply, there are other women who are too young, not ready or honestly not interested in having children who are perhaps some of the most loving, exemplary role models for our children. Why not celebrate all of these women? Why not pray for all of these women.
While I personally love the sentiment of Mother's Day, I would like to declare today "Woman Day". I am going to celebrate the women in my children's lives who teach them to love, to be compassionate, to know happiness, and to know they are good enough just the way they are. I am celebrating those women who share joy, teach values and have expectations of my children. I'm talking about myself, as the mother of my own children hoping every day that I am doing enough, teaching enough and loving enough. I'm talking about their Grandmothers, Great Grandmothers, Aunts and other family members. I'm talking about the mother of my children's friends, and about the neighbor next door, who keeps an eye on the neighborhood and loves seeing our kids running around. I'm talking about all the teachers that spend a lot of time with my children, and so many other children almost every single day. I am also talking about the celebrity or athlete on TV that my children look up to because they see you on TV, in the theatre, and on the radio. They watch how you act, what you say and how people react to you. Regardless of who you are or if you are a Mother, if you are a woman and you care about my children (whether you know them personally or not) and about how they act, what they think, and you want to see them become successful, confident, compassionate adults I thank you. I thank you for your role in their lives and I thank you for taking this role seriously.
I know I am not a perfect Mom. I know that it takes a village to raise a child. And I personally want to say Happy Woman's Day to every single woman who helps me raise my children to be the best that they can be!
Happy Mother's day and Happy Woman's day!
1 comment:
I have 2 sisters in law who don't have kids and both wanted them at one time. I always wish them happy mothers day and say "it's a state of mind! You care for others and my kids love you, so you get to celebrate too!"
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