Mother's Day

Here's the thing about mother's day: all mothers would really like that day off from mothering, but that never, ever, ever, E-VAH!! happens. True, some mothers are just so in love with being mothers that they actually want to be around their children...they just love being with them all the time, la-lala-la-lala... This was true for me when my children didn't talk, whine, complain, fight, etc. But really, really, we just want that day off from our beautiful little children, from cooking, from cleaning...and it usually never happens.

This mother's day, my bunch offered to make me breakfast in bed. What a treat, you say. I'll admit it: I first thought, "The kitchen is going to be a hot mess and then I'll have to clean it and then..." But I resisted the immediate ungrateful-ness that swoops in and grabs hold of my words and shakes them out of my mouth. I just said, "How sweet!" Fortunately, the mother's day goddesses were working on my side because breakfast came from a local cafe instead of our kitchen. My crew bought me the best gift too: culinary magazines and Carol's Daughter Almond Souffle Body Butter! And, my husband, who knows I have a thing for Hugh Jackman and is quite comfortable with it (partly because he knows that I don't know Hugh, will probably never know him and--therefore--is no threat whatsoever to our beautiful union) took me to see Wolverine. It is a Man-Movie...a delicious, pulsating, sight-to-behold man movie...and I enjoyed every muscular second of it : )

To my surprise, I didn't receive any macaroni necklaces (sigh) or cards made from school (big sigh). And, for the record, just what are they teaching our children these days? Pasta necklaces are a mother's day staple. My beautiful babies did say, "happy Mother's Day," 1, 523 times. A.J. read a book to me (he's in kindergarten and is a reading superstar!) B gave me one of his toys, and J was the mastermind behind the culinary magazine (smart girl)! They also fought, whined, complained, etc., throughout the day as well, but one day they won't. One day they won't get their jumbo chalk out to decorate the sidewalk with "Roses are Red" poems for me, which they did (sigh). One day they'll pat me on the head (they will all be taller than I), and say, "Happy's Mother's Day" and forget the jumbo chalk odes and the "I can read" moments (sigh).

So eventhough I, and most of my girlfriends, wanted to be in a spa far, far away from it all, we truly are blessed to be loved my our babies...even if they show it by whining, complaining and fighting. One day, they will sit with their friends and say, "If it's not one thing, it's your mother," and laugh as I do when I say the same thing about my mother (Mom, if you're reading this, I mean it in the best way possible.) They will always appreciate me, but they will show it in different ways as they grow, but I'll always know that loving me is like loving them: not always effortless but definitely automatic.

And I have to report that the love of my life, my husband (not Hugh:) , gave me a card that made me cry. Cry. We've had the pleasure of being together for 12 years and it feels brand new most of the time. Across the world, there isn't another man I would have rather created children with. Cbabi makes mothering more automatic and effortless because he is a fantastic father.

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms and to all the women who "mother" as only we can.

grace & peace,

reine