Mother's Day

As I write this, 30 minutes before Mother's Day 2015, I settle down after a long day of festivities. My little Joe turned 7 today.

I recall his birth like it was yesterday. I remember that little toddler I called "the energizer bunny" because he never stopped moving. Climbing. Getting into things.

He's my still very, incredibly active boy. He has the energy of 10 rambunctious puppies all bundled together. I love him for it. He keeps me on my toes.

He is a wise old soul at times, saying things that you wouldn't expect to come out of a six seven year old's mouth. Other times he is a comedian. His little personality is shaping up to be a fun one. This boy is going to be filled with love and laughter as an adult, I can see it now.

Happy birthday to my sweet Joe! 

While we celebrated the birthday of my third child today, tomorrow I shall celebrate all four of my children. They made me a mother. They made my life complete. They make life worth it.

 “Sometimes when you pick up your child you can feel the map of your own bones beneath your hands, or smell the scent of your skin in the nape of his neck. This is the most extraordinary thing about motherhood - finding a piece of yourself separate and apart that all the same you could not live without.”
― Jodi Picoult, Perfect Match

It can also be a sorrowful day. I will be missing Jacob greatly, as it's hard to be a mother to four when there are only three in your arms.

 

I know for others Mother's Day can be a difficult day when it is the one thing they long for, yet the one thing that remains elusive, if not impossible. That, too, is a great loss.

To my own mama, I love you, I love you, I love you. This had to have been written about you:


When the Good Lord was creating mothers, He was into His sixth day of "overtime" when the angel appeared and said. "You're doing a lot of fiddling around on this one."

And God said, "Have you read the specs on this order?" She has to be completely washable, but not plastic. Have 180 moveable parts...all replaceable. Run on black coffee and leftovers. Have a lap that disappears when she stands up. A kiss that can cure anything from a broken leg to a disappointed love affair. And six pairs of hands."

The angel shook her head slowly and said. "Six pairs of hands.... no way."

It's not the hands that are causing me problems," God remarked, "it's the three pairs of eyes that mothers have to have."

That's on the standard model?" asked the angel. God nodded.

One pair that sees through closed doors when she asks, 'What are you kids doing in there?' when she already knows. Another here in the back of her head that sees what she shouldn't but what she has to know, and of course the ones here in front that can look at a child when he goofs up and say. 'I understand and I love you' without so much as uttering a word."

God," said the angel touching his sleeve gently, "Get some rest tomorrow...."

I can't," said God, "I'm so close to creating something so close to myself. Already I have one who heals herself when she is sick...can feed a family of six on one pound of hamburger...and can get a nine year old to stand under a shower."

The angel circled the model of a mother very slowly. "It's too soft," she sighed.

But tough!" said God excitedly. "You can imagine what this mother can do or endure."

Can it think?"

Not only can it think, but it can reason and compromise," said the Creator.

Finally, the angel bent over and ran her finger across the cheek.

There's a leak," she pronounced. "I told You that You were trying to put too much into this model."

It's not a leak," said the Lord, "It's a tear."

What's it for?"

It's for joy, sadness, disappointment, pain, loneliness, and pride."

You are a genius, " said the angel.

Somberly, God said, "I didn't put it there.”
― Erma Bombeck, When God Created Mothers