Mother's Day 2007

Children are a great comfort in your old age - and they help you reach it faster, too. ~Lionel Kauffman

I called my Mother the day before Mother's Day. And, Jeff and I called his Mom on Mother's Day. Since they live several hours away from us, we weren't able to visit with them on Mother's Day.

I had a great Mother's Day. We packed a lunch and headed to the lake for a picnic and to feed the ducks. Anna always stands up on the picnic table to feed them. I guess duck are a bit intimidating to her since they are her height. After lunch, we stopped at the RV campground that we used to call home and visited with the camp hosts, Norm and Sharon. They backfilled us on the happenings at the campground since we left.

Rachel and Anna made the sweetest gifts for me at school. On Friday morning, Rachel's class hosted a "Muffins with Mom" breakfast. And, both Rachel and Anna brought home crafts they had made at school for me. Anna gave me a picture she painted and the whole entire page was red. I didn't really think much of that fact until she told me "Mommy, I painted it red because that is your favorite color." I thought that was so thoughtful of her....something that seemed so benign had so much thought put into it...particularly for a 4 year old.

Additionally, Jeff helped them make a framed photo/hand print gift for me. Jeff jokingly started complaining about how he didn't get any gifts and Mom got everything on Mother's Day. Rachel replied, "Dad, stop grumping. You'll get something on Father's Day." It was pretty funny to witness. Now, if they would just be so understanding when they don't get a gift when it's their siblings birthday.

While I love my children with all of my heart, I will be the first to admit that there are days I wonder if I'm cut out for this motherhood gig. You will always hear women go on and on about how wonderful motherhood is but you won't hear many tell you about their crazy parenting moments. I think one of my favorite videos to watch is "Bill Cosby, Himself." He has the funniest commentary about parenting in that video and so much of it is true! One prerequisite for parenting is having a sense of humor; otherwise you just won't survive. How many parents can remember saying, "look at the camera and smile." All we want is one good family photo...is that too much to ask. But...noooooooo. As you can see, Anna is not smiling in my Mother's Day picture. But, then again, I have given up on those perfect photos. And, in the end, I guess this photo is more indicative of who she is anyway.

I think God sends us the moments of "Mommy, I painted it red because that is your favorite color" so we don't go running screaming into the night. :-)

And, when you show up at work with two different shoes just remember this....

Insanity is hereditary; you get it from your children. ~Sam Levenson