Happy Mother's Day!

Is there anyone else out there still trying to form an opinion about Mother's Day? There are people who love it, people who hate it and people who just don't care. I know they all have their reasons, but I did not want their reasons to become my reasons because I want my own opinion (thank you very much!). 

And this year, after one particularly long week, I had decided that I did not want to celebrate Mother's Day at all. No thanks. Not my thing. But that view softened eventually and became a desire to do nothing but soak in these little children of mine who call me 'Mom'. I put in a breakfast request to which Jason happily obliged and put in a stipulation that I must get a picture with just me and the kids (as I am usually the one behind the camera). Other than that, I wanted to let the world pass me by while I crawled all over the living room floor and played games with the kiddos.

Well, Sunday morning greeted me with this handsome guy getting breakfast well underway...

Man, oh man! He sure is handsome!

And this handsome Little Guy so filled with excitement about giving Mommy her gifts that he couldn't sit still or stop smiling.

and a breakfast plate with an incredibly delicious whole wheat vegan crepes filled with all sorts of wonderful vegetables.

And I even got a photo with the kiddos. Actually, I got TWO! 

This one is blurry, but I love it anyway. It just feels so quiet and peaceful, which is sometimes a rarity around here.

And I really love this one as well. It is a little bit more realistic of a snapshot of our life. 

Silly, smiling children. Happy Mommy.

I adore these kids! They are absolutely incredible and impress me each and every day with their ambition to learn and grow.

Before it was time to go, I felt an impression to switch my jewelry. Strange, I know, though I ended up wearing two very special pieces of jewelry; an item from my parents and an item from my grandmother. As odd as this may sound, it really helped to remind me of the mothers that have come before me and helped shape who I am today.
Then it was time to head out the door for morning church. But after such a lovely breakfast I had let my guard down and was not prepared for all the ways the rest of the day would take me away from my vision for the day. 

In the end, by the time church was done, impromptu meetings lasted too long, visits and phonecalls, the day was nearing it's end and the kids were tired and hungry. And I was left feeling like I had missed it all, regretting that I had not protected that time better, and longing to go back to that far-too-brief perfect breakfast.

Now, don't get me wrong, there were other good things in the day. The kids were very well behaved at church. Milayla and Atticus greeted me with smiles larger-than-life when I made it home. Both Jason and I got to call our Moms. We all were able to sit down to dinner together (though it was to the melody of two very tired kids). And, somehow, Jason managed to put together a small batch of cinnamon rolls for us to indulge in.

So, no, the day was not bad. Just not what I had expected and hoped for. Perhaps the day served as more of a reminder at how poorly I adapt to last minute changes than anything else. And considering that it has not even been a week since Mother's Day and the disappointments have nearly faded away and been replaced by the much stronger, happy, memory of wonderful family, good friends and loving mothers, perhaps it was a much better day than I gave it credit for. I am blessed. And I am grateful for such special people in my life that worked so hard to give me a little spoiling. I am grateful for joy in my life that helps smooth out all the bumps in the road and put things into perspective. And I am grateful for the opportunity to rededicate myself to being a Mother as I discover what all that entails for me. And though there are a few things I wish had happened differently, at least I was surrounded by people I love (and I will know better for next year!).

So to everyone, everywhere, I hope you found a way to celebrate Mother's Day that you enjoyed.

Happy Mother's Day!