This was my 3rd Mother's Day, and each year Jude has done something out of the ordinary to celebrate. When he was still in his fussy infant phase, he gave me the gift of a Relief Society lesson by snoozing like the dead on my lap. The next year when he was a tireless 1-year-old, he slept in till 9:30. And this year, he sat on my lap for 90% of Sacrament Meeting and, in the middle of it, for no apparent reason other than he loves me, he gave me a tight, prolonged hug around my neck and a big kiss on the cheek. He always pulls through on my special day :).
We all know I love being a mom, but lately I've been feeling especially grateful to have my own Mother and Mother-in-Law.
My Mom knows how to crochet, knit, embroider, sew everything from a slip cover to a wedding dress, reupholsters furniture, paints the interior and exterior of her house, can nourish a dying flower back to life, remembers all the poetry from her English Lit classes in college (and thus was able to help me over the phone with mine), cooks healthy, and even somehow makes eating chocolate appear healthy (since she does it a lot and has never gained weight in the 30 years I've been on this beautiful Earth). She is tactful and gracious, and I've decided she's figured out how to be a "positive realist". She was a little hard on me in my teen years about things like curfew and boyfriends, but now that I'm a mom, I understand she couldn't NOT worry, and a vigilant parent is better than an AWOL parent. But most importantly, she's a toasty blanket of love and the sound of encouragement and calm. Bad day, good day, she always improves a day. When she can, she takes a half-day off to down to hang out with me and my boys, and those days are so delicious. We talk, we laugh, we eat a treat, and she'll always claim to have a "little bit of a headache" coming on and therefore needs sips of my Diet Coke. Lately, Sarah joins us too. "Mimi" is the Jude whisperer, and he's kind of obsessed with her. She gave him a toy car, which he calls "my Mimi car!" and must take it with him everywhere. He panics if I try to put him down for a nap without it. Anyway, she's a blessing we all appreciate.
My Mother-in-Law gave me a hug the first time I met her when Jeff and I were dating. She was one of the only people who encouraged me to sleep train Jude, which was a very important thing for me to do (another blog post for another day). She goes out of her way to help me with the boys, and they love her because she's awesome but also because I know they feel so much love from her. She also sews, arranges flowers, crochets, and has embroidered blankets for Jude and Graham, and makes Christmas jammies every year. She's classy, honest, smart, and nurturing. Charissa has a great sense of humor and whenever we get together we all stay up late laughing and talktalktalking. I often crave sitting in their family room with some Steven's Hot Chocolate or a Diet Pepsi, watching TV and talking. One of the biggest reasons why I'll love her forever is without her, and alllllll that she put into raising Jeff, I wouldn't be a wife and mother. I hope I can also raise Jude and Graham to be clever hunks that will make a girl want to sign up for a lifetime AND eternity together like I do with my Jeff. I can't wait for my in-laws to quit working already so they can come visit us more.
In short, I hit the jackpot on Moms, and don't think I deserve them. As it is, however, they're stuck with me.
Happy Mother's Day to all, and to all a goodnight!
1 comment:
Thank you for the very kind words! I'm sure your Mom will agree that we are the lucky ones. We were blessed to have you and all your awesomeness ( is that even a word?) in our lives! I love you Merzy!
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