Today is Mothers Day and my heart is a bouquet of
gratitude. Here are glimpses of that
bouquet.
(My mom and I at Chilliwack Lake last week)
I am grateful to be a mom.
I remember the Mothers Day after I had a miscarriage and was awaiting to
become pregnant again, awaiting to become a mom.
We were out for lunch as an extended family
and all the moms received a plant.
There
I was with empty hands and empty arms. That Mothers Day had a sting.
My Children are beautiful.
I am a mom of three.
These are
words I never hoped for before they came true.
Now I hold those words like treasures. Mom of three.
My children. My legacy.
Some of my very best teachers.
These children are mirrors.
These children are blessings.
These children are gifts.
Today I am grateful for my eldest daughters’
mothers day notes – written all by herself.
My daughter who reflects my own perfectionist struggles, but who shines
with generosity, compassion and tremendous ability to be mindful of the beauty
around her and to be able to create tremendous beauty in action and in art.
My son who is hardworking, usually smiling,
easy to please, strong, determined and patient…and oh so handsome – a miniature
of his father.
(Just don’t let him get
hangry!)
My youngest daughter who is tender
and feisty and all kinds of passionate.
She is something new to me, who is a delight
to learn together with.
My own mother was just out for a visit.
I am so grateful to be her daughter and to
have my mom.
5 years ago on Mothers Day
we packed up our 2 year old daughter drove 13 hours straight to have Mothers
Day with my acutely ill mom.
Gratitude
pours in when I contemplate how thankful I am to still have my mom in my
life.
Indeed she will live in and
through me forever, but to have her hands scrubbing my deck so we can enjoy the
outdoors together, to have her sit across from me at a lunch out as an early
Mothers Day celebration --- these are sweet gifts.
I was asked at church to share why I love my
mom.
Let me share here what I said.
I appreciate my mom for all she has taught
me.
She has taught me simple mom-like
things like when driving only back up as far as you have to, it’s safer to
drive forwards.
She’s taught me how to
make traditional and favorite foods like cottage cheese perogies, peppernuts,
sugar cookies.
She’s taught me to love
seniors and value their importance in our society and our families.
Most of all she’s taught me to trust
God.
She has shown me firsthand how to
proclaim “it will be okay” even in a critical health crisis.
Oh how that was such a valuable lesson for me
to have learned and to draw upon when my own health crisis emerged!
I’m grateful to have a mother-in-law who treasures her
grandchildren SO much, who would do anything to support us in raising them, who
gives and gives and gives and then digs deeper and gives some more.
She is fun grandma.
She is grandma who feeds us weekly and sends
us home with home-baked bread and cookies.
She helps us thrive as a family.
This is a BIG day (just asks my husband who has learned the
importance to me of acknowledging the occasion).
It carries a weight (for some it carries a
very painful weight).
Mothering is the
most difficult endeavor.
For each of us
the difficulty comes in different seasons and different measures and from
different angles – but it is universal.
Many times motherhood drives us women close to
the brink of craziness while other times these sometimes monsters sometimes
delightful children, fill our hearts with a throbbing love, putting a joyous
pulse in our veins….which makes us feel even crazier to love these little
monsters so much that it makes our gut and souls want to burst.
This is motherhood.
The good the bad the ugly the brilliant!
And to be appreciated, to be acknowledged in the midst of
this turmoil -- it means so much.
So here
I raise a toast, “to moms! to every woman on the journey of motherhood,
whatever your journey looks like!” Clink. Clink. Cheers!
Happy Mother’s Day
XOXO
Cheryl
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