Mother's Day 2013



Oh what a beautiful day yesterday was.  It was everything I had hoped it would be.  The day started with me staying in bed past 7 (!), reading blogs, checking facebook and planning my garden.  The door opened and in walked my kids, each carrying a different piece of my breakfast.  Claire made the card, Fisher poured the cereal, and Holland came up with the brilliant idea for the 1/2 and 1/2 peanut butter and jelly toast!

On my front porch sat this little pink geranium, a yearly gift from my across-the-street neighbor.  So nice.  I love neighbors who do neighborly things.

After a gorgeous morning run, I showered, made coffee and headed out to buy my gardening supplies.

This is what I bought:  Eggplant (new crop for me!), broccoli, red seed potatoes (also new), cucumbers, peppers, and 4 different kinds of tomatoes (Early Girl, Bradley, Roma and Beefcake (or something like that!)).

By the time I got home, Lance was well into preparing pancakes, eggs and bacon for our family along with his parents.  It is our usual Sunday fare, but delicious as always.

THEN, Lance dealt with putting little H down for a nap while Claire and I went and shopped the sales at Old Navy.  She NEEDED flip, flops, and we found a swimsuit too.  She even allowed me to listen to Garrison Keeler on the radio, whom she declared "tortures me with his talking."  Love it.

FINALLY- it was time to get to work in the yard.  After working the soil, adding compost, planting, fertilizing and watering, my body was aching but my heart was happy.  I look forward to planting a garden so much.
My little egg plant.  I'm so excited to see how it grows!

Broccoli, peppers, and tomatoes- so hoping I am successful with the broccoli and peppers this year.

My Mother's Day gift from Lance:  a new cherry tree!  My delicious pies will be the result of this gift.  It is something I have ALWAYS wanted.

My trusty Impatiens.  They are the only flower that will grow in this bed.  This picture captured the 1 hour of sunlight it receives a day.
The rest of the day was spent outside playing basketball, riding bikes and looking for a lost cat (who was found!)


I am so thankful to be a mom.  In the doldrums of every day life, the wonder of this gift escapes me.  I think that's ok- because being a mom is hard.  So hard.  It tries my patience, makes me feel insecure and worry that I'm doing it all wrong.  But I know much of that is a lie.  I love my kids and I know they love me so very much.

A week or so ago, I had to discipline Claire for being disrespectful.  I can't remember what she had done, but I know that she was really mad at me, and burst into tears, slammed her door and started writing something down.  When I came in her room later to put away some laundry, she looked at me, crumpled up what she had written and threw it away.  A few minutes later, she came into my room with a new, unwrinkled piece of paper in her hand.

"Mommy," she said, "I made this for you" and handed me this note:


"I love you mommy evin if you dont no it."

She flung herself into my arms, hugged me and cried.

Oh, my breaking heart.  Oh how this moment made so much so worth while.  I needed to read those words, scrawled in her 6-year-old handwriting.  I will need to read these words over and over again.  I know that my children love me, but to know that THEY know they love me is so moving.  So rewarding.  Such a treasure.

I tucked that note in the dresser on my mirror, where I know it will always stay, waiting for me to read it just when I need it.

I am a happy mother.


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