Happy Mother's Day 2005

I had a lovely day today. We did nothing special or out of the ordinary. We did not eat in a restaurant nor did we have take-out. Steven woke me at nearly 7:30. The meds for the mouth thing really made me sleep! I woke, groggy, jaw stiff and stumbled to the bathroom. Brushed my teeth and tried to pry my eyes open. The kids had been up for hours waiting for me to wake. They were eager and smiling. Gracie was just anxious as ever to present her special gifts for her momma. Gracie presented me with a lovely little plant cup wrapped in pink tissue paper and tied with a green ribbon.

The tag reads: This isn't just an empty pot. There's something you should know. Inside the pot there is a seed That just like me will grow. The plant that grows will someday bloom And remind you of the seed so small. But without your love and tender care, Thw seed wouldn't grow at all. Thanks for helping me grow! Happy Mother's Day!

She also had made me a card professing her love. She had also put together a little book complete with drawing and misspelled words. My youngest child thinks I am a rock star. She thinks I am cool. Her favorite thing is when I hold her close and hug her when she is sad. Oh, yes, it was a Hallmark moment! J. was eager to present me with a card she had picked out herself and used her own money to buy. It was a funny card, addressing me as "Mom". It is the first time she has allowed herself to actually call me "Mom". Which says more than you will ever know because she lives primarily with her mother, but today I AM "Mom". Colby also made me a beautiful card. To her mother "who always gives more than she gets." My dear oldest daughter remembers those years when I never got anything from her father. From my husband I got THE letter. His letters very tiny all in a line like soldiers, but very unkempt soldiers. No one but me will ever be able to decifer his script. It tells me I am appreciated even though sometimes I might think I am not. It also tells me I am loved. One line reads:

"I love you with my whole heart. I only want to be with you, here, in our house, on our farm."

My gift on this Mother's Day is an antique sewing machine, a White Rotary, ca. 1913. It is a lovely piece of old world craftsmanship. From it's condition it was well used but also well tended. It works as if it were new. I said "Thank you" and can only hope I did so graciously. I do wonder though if my reaction was not what was expected for all day long I was asked by my dear husband if today was a proper and good Mother's Day. To which I answered it was. After the morning gifts, J. had to be taken home to have Mother's Day with her mother. In the late morning we sat at the table, ate leftover pizza and planned what would fill our hours the rest of the day. I was asked my plans and then asked what I wanted him to do. I answered, "Help me, of course." Trusty chainsaw in tow, my husband finished a chore we started and never really got back too. We took down about 2 foot of the height off the boxwoods in front of the house. They are all neatly one height now and you can actually see the porch. We moved down toward the road front along the white fence and cut and chopped all of the overgrown trees that belong to the neighbors but have crossed over and grown through our fence. The trees and brush have been allowed to grow for so long they literally have torn down the fence in several places as the previous owners seemed to have NEVER taken care of that area of the front yard. This evening as the night fell over us, the front grass is mowed. The trees and trash and scrub brush and nasty bushes with animal nests are all gone. All that is left on our side is the sight of our uncovered delapidated-in-places white fence. But that is OK! We have plans to repair that fence. Sooner or later the trees had to come down. We dined on BBQ ribs, cooked out back in our little cook house on the grill, served up with green beans, mashed potatoes with butter and sour cream and corn on the cob. We enjoy tall glasses filled with ice and I.B.C. rootbeer, too. For dessert there was caramel filled apple pie. Big slices of pie! Delicious. Today may seem like just another day of work to those who read this. For me it was Mother's Day. A day when everyone helped to work and accomplish something I have been wanting. The front of our house and yard no longer looks like the people who live here don't care. It is neat and tidy, trimmed and proper. It is reflective of me. Happy Mother's Day!