My Mother's Day Shortcomings

Yesterday was Mother's Day.  Its a day I look forward to all year long.  That certainly isn't because of overly successful past events, but rather because of the possibility that it could be amazing.  Sure, its wonderful to think that for just one day, the children will be on their very best behaviour, no one will be ill, and that my spouse will take over and do all the things that normally fill my weekend hours.  And then there's the reality: its a commercialized day, one filled with retail purchases of chocolates, spa days, gift cards, and flowers.

I love, in fact I look forward to, the sweet little gifts and cards that my children create for me, and the hugs that accompany them.  As they get older, the sweetness in these gifts is replaced by genuinely nice comments and reflections on our recent experiences. And its these moments that I absolutely LOVE.  Its nice to hear once in a while that my boys do cherish so many of the things that I do for them.

But the rest of it can stop.  The ideal that I'll just sit around for an entire day and wait for others to do things for me?  That's about as unrealistic as it can be.  For that to happen means that the day before and the day following Mother's Day will be chaotic frenzied adventures in trying to squeeze in my to-do list items.

This year fell short on most levels.  I'm pretty sure everyone forgot what day it was.  There was no attempt to make mommy breakfast, not even a cup of coffee.  I was the last one to leave the breakfast table - and noticed a kitchen full of dirty dishes. So, I took care of those.  We went to a baseball game, and our team lost.  There were free shirts being given away, and we walked in seconds after the last one was taken.  Our planned parking spots at the stadium were all full, so we drove around in search of others.  And that nice quiet evening with a cup of tea and my favourite tv shows?  Nope, that ideal was replaced with spending the night rubbing the back of an unwell child.

Would I change a thing?  Nope!  I love being their Mommy.  I love helping them, and love the ins and outs of our everyday existence.  My only mistake, the one thing I knew better than, but fell victim to, was the ideal of Mother's Day.  Life isn't perfect, I don't think it would be any fun if it was.  So, now that its Monday and I'm here at my desk, I find myself smiling as I look at the sweet handmade cards filled with random and silly comments about the things my boys like most about me, Mommy.