Pretty awesome? Yes. I think it's completely bitchin' to come from the same DNA stew as Anna Jarvis. Anna was a pretty cool lady, in my opinion but, not because she merely founded Mother's Day.
Anna got pretty ticked off when Mother's Day became commercialized by the Floral and Greeting Card industry. After Mother's Day took off and became commercialized, Anna actually started writing politician's and the like to STOP Mother's Day. How ironic is that? Wait, I didn't just, "Morrisette" that, did I? No, I think I used Ironic right...Anyway, my Mother's Day was actually closer to what I believe Anna envisioned and, I think that Anna is perhaps smiling down on me today.
I woke up at 7:30 this morning, before my toddler. Colin was still busily dream feeding when I decided to roll him between me and my Husband, (oh, the joys of bed sharing) did a nip slip, eased my arm out from under Colin's head, gripped the bed rail and slid quietly out of bed.
Thankfully, Colin snuggled right up to my Husband as I put on my Floridian, "Granny" gown, (full on snaps, cotton, sleeveless, blue print with white tropical flowers. Hey! It's easier for breastfeeding) while looking at a collage of pictures from when my Husband and I were in the blush of our twenties. I tip toed downstairs and, after turning on the television, I put on a pot of coffee before heading over to the laptop to troll Facebook for a while.
I am happy to report that I was able to enjoy thirty minutes of the morning before my Husband came downstairs with our Son. Forget breakfast in bed, I had THIRTY MINUTES OF ALONE TIME IN THE MORNING. That thirty minutes of being alone was a present in and of itself. My Second gift of the day was the sight of my Son, in the crook of my Husband's arm and, the smiles on their faces when they saw me.
After my Husband gently placed our Son on his own two feet, my Husband walked over to me with a wide grin on his face and the Special Edition, Royal Wedding, People Magazine that I had asked for. With a soft kiss, my Husband wished me a Happy Mother's Day and told me he loved me. With a smile in every molecule of my body, I kissed him back and took the People Magazine with greedy excitement but, before I could flip through it's pages, my Son barreled over and threw himself onto my legs, asking, "Up?" I gave my sweet boy a kiss and a long snuggle and, after we both filled up on connection and love, we went our separate ways so he could play and I could grab a cup of coffee.
Later, I joined my sleepy Husband on the couch, positioned myself so that I was tucked in behind his right shoulder, put my head in the crook of his neck and we melted into each other while watching a bit of the weekend edition of GMA. Colin sat on his V-tech rocker, still sleepy, zoning out on GMA and, because the little taste of Heaven that my Husband were sharing would not have been complete without Colin, I called Colin over and my sweet boy ran over to the couch, with his arms wide open and a big smile on his gorgeous face. I swooped up my sweet boy and, true to life, Colin asked for, "Mama", (which is what he calls my milk). I unsnapped my Floridian Granny gown and gave my Son breakfast, while still snuggling into my Husband, watching GMA.
As with all mortal tastes of Heaven, that beautiful slice of time passed in a blink and, it was time for me to head upstairs to take a shower. My Husband offered to keep Colin downstairs with him and, as nice as it would have been to take a shower without our Son, Colin needed a bath so, I opened the baby gate and watched as my Son climbed up the stairs on his own. In our bedroom, I turned on the radio, stripped down and then stripped Colin down, (after putting his cloth diapers on another hot wash cycle. I'm stripping them) and hoisted him in the shower, following closely behind. By nine, Mark was upstairs getting ready for work and after that, it was a mad dash to get out of the house in time. Since our family only has one car, in order to go anywhere on days that Mark is not off, Colin and I have to ride with Mark to work, drop him off and then go about our business. Colin and I were invited to a first birthday party for a friend at a park so, I had to stop and get a gift.
At Walmart, I tried to stick to my goal of shopping ONLY for a birthday gift but, right out of the gate, we were waylaid by a service dog who went NUTS for Colin. Colin loves doggies and, doggies love Colin (I would not be surprised if, someday, we had a dog that goes on epic adventures with Colin. Colin is going to tell his future romantic partners about this one dog he had when he was little that was his best friend. I could swear it on my Special Edition, Royal Wedding, People Magazine). After that sweet bit of skerfuffle, (fun word) we made a short detour to the potty, (for me, thanks coffee…) and then I got distracted by some cute and cheap tank tops.
It was somewhere around shoes that my Son grabbed my shirt to get my attention. When I’m in a store, that can be kind of hard to do but, he got it and, BOY, was I rewarded. Colin has not been giving me kisses on my lips, (I know that sounds kind of weird but, he had been giving me kisses on my mouth for awhile) lately but, when I looked down on his little moon face, he had puckered his little bow mouth and was making sweet little kiss squeaks. I swooped down with absolute joy and kissed him with a sunburst of love in my heart but, my darling was not finished. After our kiss, Colin slid his hands to each of my sides, pulled us together and squeezed us into a hug. *Sniff-sniff* I was, to say the least, over the moon and totally touched. What a gift!
As I was trying on sunglasses, (I’m seriously the Tracy Jordan of shopping) I thought I’d better check the time. Forty minutes later, I ran to checkout with a birthday gift, a pair of shoes, a slip, a package of underwear, a beach towel, (I forgot to take one for Colin for the splash park at the party) a tank top and some food for Colin.
We left Walmart and arrived at the birthday party, late but, in the world of most Mom's, thirty minutes late is common and, I was not even the second to last guest to arrive. We mingled, I tried out the nickname I had recently coined for Colin, ( "Indy"...."We named the dog Indy!" ) made some lame jokes and watched Colin blossom joy as he ran from spout to water spout.
Close to one, most of the guests were leaving and, because I wanted to hit up a fabric store, (for a venture i'm embarking on with another crafty Mom) before I got home, (to save on gas) Colin and I left too.
I pulled into the parking lot of the fabric store just before Colin was ready to nod off. Again, I tried to be fast but, I still ended up spending an hour in the fabric store. I had pushed Colin to stay awake so, Colin did not nod off on the ride home.
With purchases in one hand and Colin in the other, we walked into our messy town home. I peeled off the top layer of my clothes and fed Colin until he fell asleep and then, my FOURTH gift of the day came.
Colin slept, IN HIS OWN CRIB for TWO HOURS. I managed to squeeze in a phone call to my Mom, my Step mom and, a text message to my Husband's Mom. I also managed to pick up the house before Colin woke up.
After Colin decided to grace me with his presence, I managed to finish cleaning AND prepare a totally kick ass tuna fish casserole. I know, totally gourmet ('natch) BUT, my Husband just loves how I prepare tuna fish casserole, (for serious) and, I had been telling him that I was planning to make it for days. After putting the casserole in the 'fridge, I loaded up the kiddo and drove to pick up Mark and, it was thirty minutes later that I received the fifth gift of the day.
The tuna fish casserole was AWWWESOME! Somehow, I managed to snatch moments in Heaven all day!
If you’re still with me, (first of all, THANK YOU and holy wowzah, can I go ON and, THANK YOU again) I just told you the bullet points of my day with a bit of love poetry snuck in and, now I’m ready to sum it up and bring it back to Anna Jarvis.
(In case you forgot after my NOVEL…LOL…http://womenshistory.about.com/od/mothersday/a/anna_jarvis.htm)
Instead of expecting flowers, breakfast in bed, gifts of any monetary value, I expected nothing. Instead of nothing, I received a Mother’s Day that I will cherish and remember for the rest of my life.
My First Mother’s Day, I expected a whole lot. It was my first Mother’s Day. I was hoping that I would be a part of a rich celebration but, I was not. My Husband bought me flowers, cards and made me breakfast. My Mom sent me a card and a gift. I did not receive anything from my Husband’s parents.
Instead of being grateful for the obvious love and devotion my Husband has for me and, for the love and admiration my Mother has for me, I was focused on how empty the day felt, regardless of the gifts because, I was expecting more. More of what? I have no idea and, before today, I wouldn’t have been able to tell you what I wanted more of.
Today, I received the, "more" I had missed last year.
Today, I feel beyond blessed, honored, loved, cherished and I am radiating with joy for the simple day that I had today and THAT is why Anna is smiling down on me.
Hey, Anna? Thanks, for reals.
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