Happy Mother's Day!

Today, I started my Mother’s Day off with what I hope will become a new Mother’s Day tradition. Mom, Bre and I decided to meet for breakfast, just the three of us. (Jo is out of town.) We did it really early so that we could get back to our families and spend the rest of the day with them. It was so nice to just sit there, eat and talk with no interruptions. It never escapes my attention how silly we are when it is just us. I don’t know if we are making up for the lack of silliness from the kids not being there or what, but we end up acting like kids ourselves. I love it. I’m ashamed to admit that we also tend to eat more. It’s amazing how much food you can get in your mouth when you aren’t doing 20 other things!
When I got in my car to leave I thought about how important both of them are to me. They make me laugh and keep me sane. I also realized how much they have taught me about being a good Mom.
There has never been a time in my life when I didn’t feel completely surrounded by love from my Mom. When I think of her face, I see bright laughing eyes and a beautiful contagious smile. She taught me to put God first in my life. She didn’t preach to me, but she prayed with me and read us the bible. Mostly, she taught by example. She taught me to be kind to everyone, because you never know what your kindness might mean to them. She taught me patience by the way she raised us. Never yelling, never intimidating, just loving us through our rough times and gently guiding us in the right direction. She taught me about sacrifice. There were so many times that I saw her walk on shoes with shreds for soles, wear clothes that were decades old and work endless hours. Just so she could give us what we needed and wanted. She taught me about laughter and how important it is for your soul. If I am any good at being a Mom, it is because of her.
With Bre, it’s funny. I would have never guessed that she would teach me anything about being a Mom. As she likes to point out, I am 7 years older than her. When she came home from the hospital, I thought she was my real live baby doll. I changed her diapers and fed her and “mothered” her. It was hard for me to stop mothering her as she got older and we started to clash. She already had a Mom and didn’t want or need another one. I finally realized that and learned to be her sister and friend instead of “the boss of her!” I am so grateful that I did because not only has she turned out to be a great friend but I have also learned a lot from her. The thing that stands out the most is how she lets her kids be kids. She doesn’t worry about staining their clothes or even skinning their knees. She taught me to let go a little and let them learn some things on their own. She also reminded me how much fun it is to act like a kid (with my kids) sometimes. Some of my favorite times with my babies would have never happened had I not learned that from her.

And with that mushy stuff out of the way...

While I was sitting in the restaurant I couldn’t help but notice how many Dads came in with kids hanging off of their hips and being drug behind them. They would come in and pick up a bag full of food and shuffle back out the door. My first thought was “Oh, how sweet! They are probably letting their wives sleep in and picking up breakfast!” But then I couldn’t help but think “I wonder why that doesn’t happen more often?” If they could do it today, why can’t they do it on any normal weekend? Hmmm.