1) the newly mobile baby will not create a nauseating hot dog odor in the kitchen by smearing six baby-crumbled dogs e v e r y w h e r e;
2) a two-year-old, resistant to his church clothes, will not run out on the porch deck, un-diaper himself, and fling the said diaper over the balcony;
3) two young entomologists will not create footbridges for their pet caterpillar to access various household objects; and
4) when asked to sing with other children for our church congregation, the darlings will not poke and claw and harass each other during the entire (1-minute-long) song.
Each of these things did happen on Mother's Day morning, when I was still recovering from a nearly sleepless night (baby, oh baby!) and feeling a little fragile emotionally. I cycled through feeling amused, then bothered, then hurt, and then even a little bit entitled.
None of those attitudes did me any good. In fact, they made my dear ones concerned that they had failed to deliver a happy holiday for me. Soon after the singing event, I realized that I was experiencing a beautifully boldfaced motherhood experience right then--no retouching, cropping, or straightening required. This is what it is to be a mother: daily leading and maintenance of an energetic, unpredictable, and self-willed group!
I hope that they know how much I adore raising them. I recently saw Jacob hand some flowering clover to Zachary and whisper, "Mother loves these." The two picked armfuls for me during the rest of our walk. Delightfully simple acts like those,
(not to mention Eric's generous kindnesses!),
motivate me to improve my efforts daily. What joy I find in this role! Whenever I think about being a mother, I feel as if I should shout aloud for the wonder of it.
I think that most mothers feel the same way.
Four-generation photo: Grandma Joyce (visiting from FL!), Mom, and I with the boys
3 comments:
You just made me get teary-eyed. :)
You have such a cute family. I love reading your blog.
What sweet boys you have! I love the flowers. Thanks for admitting to your negative feelings on Mom's Day, especially the entitled one. I seriously suffered from entitlement issues all day long. As the day progressed, my requests were increasingly followed with, "...because it's Mother's Day!" Poor Jon, he must have given me an hour long massage, "because it's Mother's Day!" Tehe, don't you wish that day rolled around more often?
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