Mothers

Mother's Day isn't fun for everyone. Not a year goes by that I don't think of my ladies (and a few dads) on the SMA Grief Chat Group I host. Mother's Day when you are a mother, but your child is no longer here with you, is one of the more painful holidays. That may be hard to understand, but it is infinitely worse than being single on Valentine's Day or alone at Christmas if that helps anyone comprehend. As some have said, a person without their spouse is a widow/widower. A person without their parents is an orphan. But there is no word for a parent without their child, and there should be.

Another set of mothers who have a different outlook on Mother's Day: families struggling with various disorders/disease/struggles like SMA. Debbie just wrote a lovely entry on what Mother's Day means to her, and it includes the wish that her daughter could just say the words "I love you, Mom." I heard that maybe 12 times today at least, but Veronica only makes noises and "uh-huh" sounds because her muscles don't work properly and allow her to enunciate her words. Moms take it for granted, even get bothered if they don't get a gift they'd like or their spouse is lukewarm on helping for it; I wish there was a way to show them how blessed they really are.

Anyway.

MY Mother's Day was pretty special! Kaylee woke me up at 7:40 a.m. with a kiss on the cheek, and led me out to the living room where she had set up a blanket on my seat, with a hot spa foot bath with scented and colored steamy water and a blanket to cover myself with as well, and a bowl of cereal and a glass of orange juice waiting for me. So I got a nice hot foot soak in purple lavender-scented water while I had breakfast. I asked her to join me, and she hesitated and said "But it should just be for you." I told her I wanted her to join me, so we snuggled together on the chair and enjoyed our spa time until the water started cooling. At this point, she took me to the couch, where she had laid out her pillow and two blankets, so I could go back to sleep and take a nice leisurely nap while Steve had a flight lesson. What is shocking is that she actually left me there undisturbed for 90 minutes! Oh, she's still 8 and I still heard her running her scooter around in the kitchen to get a snack, or when she started screaming when she hit her toe, but she did not come in to say a word to me for over 90 minutes, and that is some kind of record for her. She usually can't stand it if she's awake and alone and anyone else is asleep-she must come talk to them, hug them, kiss them, etc. :) I got up to use the restroom, and I really did fall back asleep prior to that, and she said "I was going to wake you up with a nice back rub." Yum! :) We sat and watched various TV shows together, just snuggling and cuddling and talking. Steve got home and Phase II commenced. He grilled up some delicious brats (bratwurst), and Kaylee went off to the other room to blow up balloons. I got to teach her how to tie them successfully, which pleased us both, because she got it. :) We ate outside in lawn chairs and let the three cats play while we enjoyed our freshly grilled food. When we came inside, it was "Party Time". Kaylee had set her alarm for 6:45 a.m. and got up and decorated the entire front living room with confetti, a couple of streamers, etc., and made me stay out of there. So now it was time, and I went up there to find green shimmery confetti ALL over the floor. (This is going to be a serious clean-up job by the way. lol) She gave me a crown to wear that said "Happy Birthday" that is now for Mother's Day, she put on music, and we all danced in the living room to Nicole Mullins (Christian rock). We played a few games like "don't let the balloons hit the floor" and "whoever gets the balls into the bins the most in a time frame wins", and then we popped all the balloons by sitting on them. I twirled around in a circle and Steve and Kaylee dripped confetti all over my head. It was a fun party. :) Next came gifts, and Kaylee gave me cards she made and three lovely bracelets she made for me, along with some candy. Then it was time to take a break for a little while. The end of the day was Kaylee insisting on making me a crown out of red heart decorations and a gown of green streamers, and making Steve do a list of things for me as well. She made up a barrette for me out of paper, and set it out along with an entire pile of art decorations so he could decorate it pretty for me, which he did nicely. ;) She also insisted he draw me a candle-lit bath and a couple of other things. She knew what she wanted, she made up a list, and she insisted on following the path today. It was super sweet, and probably one of the nicest Mother's Days I've ever had. She's such a sweetheart.

So I'd like to wish a Happy Mother's Day to my Mom, who always had a hug and a smile and never left any doubt how much she loved me, to my mother-in-law who loves me as though I'm also her daughter, to my grandmothers whom I respect and love, and to all you moms out there, children here or gone, doing your best for your kids day to day.