My Mother's Day

Mother's Day in the past has been hard for me. I HATED it growing up. I felt it was a painful reminder that my own mother was gone from me forever. I was a child. I was near sighted. I didn't see the many women who were gifts in my life. I'm all grown up now.

I had my Mom. She gave me life. She loved me tons. She must have told me every single day that I was incredible because ... I feel like I'm incredible (apparently for no reason - ha).

A few years after Mom passed away, Dot came into my life. She was an amazing display on efficiency. Dot taught me how to do --- everything. She could sew. She could cook. She could feed a family of 10 on 10 cents. There is nothing in the world that Dot can not do. She will feign ignorance about this, but trust me - I could NOT have had a better teacher than Dot. I get to keep Dot in my life (bonus), but now I also have Judy.

Judy is an amazing study in human behavior. She never meets a stranger. Kids love her always and forever. And ... she is an incredible mediator. I can't say enough. She loves her children the way I hope to love mine - meaning, they are perfect and she just LOVES them - you see it in her face when she talks about them. It's wonderful. Judy encourages me to be more forgiving, more understanding and accepting of others.

I am so incredibly blessed! I have had amazing women in my life. I also have been blessed with friends who have mothers that are wonderful examples to me - not to mention my leaders at church through the years as well as teachers at school. When I look back to see the army of women who have encouraged and taught me well, it's hard to imagine that my mother wasn't behind all of it. She was a heck of a woman! I can not imagine her letting one of her children "go" off into the world without the opportunity to learn from a strong person (whether or not we learned was up to us, but the opportunity was always there).

Today, I have been grateful. I am grateful for the privilege I've had to bring my wonderful children into the world. I am grateful for the sacrifices I'm willing to make to ensure they have whatever their heart desires. I am grateful for the lessons they are teaching me. I am grateful to love someone more than myself. I am grateful to be a mother.

• Thank you Abigail Scout for teaching me how to be a creative mother with boundaries.
• Thank you Noah Maclean for teaching me how to keep my emotions in check and think of others before myself.
• Thank you Lillian Lois Jane for teaching me how to calm down and enjoy the ride.
• Thank you to those babies I've lost for teaching me how to appreciate the ones I didn't.

I was planning on including pics of my day, but I'm feeling a little different now. Let's just say Mother's Day for me included breakfast in bed, homemade cards, flowers, time spent with my two oldest doing something we all enjoy, me pondering the thoughts above, snuggling/laughing with my baby, and I rounded it all out by taking my canine daughter on a walk (because my animals are my babies too).

With the exception of missing a few people whom I love and adore and miss painfully (you know who you are!), this has been a gold star perfect day. Now to make other days equally important without so much emphasis on my uterus ...

Ok ... just one picture: