Mother’s Day Photojournal

I am so grateful for my mother.  Not only did she bring me up (and sometimes had to drag me up kicking and screaming), but now she and my dad share in the care and education of my children.

I am grateful for the many people– elders and contemporaries– who have mothered me, and continue to do so.  And I am also so grateful for my children, who make me a mother.  But on Mother’s Day, when Sam asked me what I wanted for the day, I didn’t say, “Oh, I’d like time with my mom.”  Or, “I’d love to plant the garden with the children.”  Or, “I’d love to have an outing as a family.”

No.  I said, “I’d like to be alone.”

And even though he’d been alone with the kids all of Saturday, he smiled and said, “All right!  Everybody outside!”  I am so very grateful for him.

I sewed.  It’s something I enjoy and do rarely now, as there isn’t a good place for me to leave everything out and can’t think the last time I had enough time to complete a project, start to finish.  I bought Heather Ross’s lovely book Weekend Sewing several years ago and had yet to make anything from it, so I chose the “Flower Girl Dress” and had at it.  For hours.  When I finished it, I made another.  Here’s the first one, finished.

Oh wait.  I’ll ask her to stand still.

As an aside, I would never let my children jump on the furniture.  What was I thinking (ten years ago) when I decided to be the cool mom and let them do that?  Now, almost eleven years later  it’s too late, and I’m not so cool with it.

All right, just because I like it so much…

Thanks for letting me use all your band-width on a dress.  I feel much better now.  (P.S. This dress should be stepped into from the top, not pulled over the head, or you’ll hear shrieking that it doesn’t fit.  When clearly, it fits.)

And then after I was all sewed out and the children were hot and sweaty and covered in sand and bug bites, Sam made me a feast.  (Although there are 5 people who claim to have made the carrot cake– my favorite.)

As a final note to the evening, I gave a little concert.

How those bugs love him– almost as much as I do!

I hope your time planting a garden or going for an outing– or just being alone– was a time of  blessing for you.  Thanks for mothering me in all the ways you do!