mother's day

It was my first Mother's Day as a mother with a child outside of the womb! My dear family and husband made sure I felt loved, and Zoralee chimed in as best she could. She peed all over our bed first thing in the morning - not her best effort - but there were plenty of smiles and screeches the rest of the day.
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I love being a mom. And actually, a simple day of recognition and time to reflect practically make up for five months of sleep-deprivation, anxiety over the potential hardships my child will face, the effort of creating a good parenting rhythm with my spouse, sorrow over time already gone, guilt over looking forward to the next stage, adjustment of my schedule to be nearly all baby all the time. Hm. That sounded sarcastic. I couldn't have intentionally written a better sarcastic sentence than that. But I am serious! It's important to catch little glimmers of appreciation every now and again. So, if you haven't yet, thank your mom for being your mom.
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People talk about a mother's patience, and now I get it. Being the primary care-giver of a baby is a gigantic adjustment of nothing less than your entire life. The image of a trillium ovatum flower is becoming important to me as it relates to the patience of motherhood, thanks to a very sweet Mother's Day write-up my husband gave me using this photo. We've been noticing this flower in the woods around here for the first time ever. They can take up to 15 YEARS to bloom and are very, very rare. They change to a beautiful color of purple later in the spring.

Now a couple pics of the one who has made me a mother.

First off, who has ever seen a cuter shadow than this?

(I doubt anyone.)

on Mother's Day:

And now, I'd like to pay a little tribute to a few special women. My mom is a helluva woman, as anyone who knows her will say. Well, they might not all quasi-swear like that, but you know. Just a sampling of things about her that I really appreciate are these:

• She is smart, practical, organized, and level-headed.
• She wants people to be recognized on their special days and for their accomplishments. This woman seriously writes hundreds of cards a month for people's birthdays, anniversaries, etc. If you'd like a personal card in the mail for whatever reason, email me and I'll pass your information on to my mother. The U.S. Postal Service is weathering this economic storm on account of her.
• If she has something negative to say, it is calculated and usually necessary.
• She has the patience of a Buddhist monk.
• She knows when and how to take a break.
• She loves her grand-daughter!
• She is hospitable, and she taught us how to share. I don't know how many times she came to us kids and whispered, "So-and-so is staying for supper; everybody take just one small piece of meat." (Okay, so some of that is the result of my dad being Mr. Sociable and inviting everybody to stay for a meal who happens to drop by. Which only further illustrates:)
• She is gracious.

Here's a four generation picture from my babyhood.

My only living Grandma (pictured above sporting the 'fro) is the embodiment of a perfect grandma. She:

• attended every last one of our recitals and concerts, ball games and sporting events
• always keeps snacks, gum, and an assortment of random emergency items in her purse (a trait which my mom inherited)
• thus, has a large purse
• rocked me in her rocking chair up into my teens
• has the most glorious, calming, off-key singing voice for during rocking
• is thoughtful, compassionate, and accepting of all manner of folk
• loves her great-grand-daughter!

Jason's mom, Barbara, is a great mother-in-law! How many people can say that? She is not a meddler, as many are prone to be. One of our best things in common is how much we love Jason, her "little dumpling." I don't call him that, naturally. She adores the ground on which he walks, which he has many a time declared to be a great source of confidence to him. Additionally, a few things I appreciate about her are that she:

• loves to travel and has a delightful spur-of-the-moment bug. If she finds a deal, she'll hop on an airplane tomorrow and be laying on a beach in the sun somewhere. That's the kind of action I like to see around here.
• is an optimist.
• is generous and quick to forgive.
• is strong and has an enduring will to live and experience life, despite chronic pain that started at a young age.
• loves her grand-daughter!
• is beautiful.

Here's a four generation pic from Zoralee's baby shower: Zoralee, me, my mom and Barbara (Jason's mom), and my grandma Louise.