Another happy Mother's Day

Want to know what I got for Mother's Day this morning?

My son made his bed all by himself! Not bad, eh? That's even better than the time he put dishes in the dishwasher for me.

And David got me a vase of beautiful flowers (including my favorites, roses and stargazer lilies) and made us pancakes for lunch. I also got a very small mint plant. I'm sure I will unintentionally find a way to kill it sooner or later, but for now, it's very nice.

So, so far, I'm enjoying the day. Being a mother is hard work, and I have to admit that it's nice to be recognized for it. In fact, I totally disagree with a premise supposedly espoused by the mother character in the book "Belles on their Toes" (the sequel to "Cheaper by the Dozen") by Frank and Ernestine Gilbreth. The mother, Lillian, claims to dislike Mother's Day because she believes it's one day that people use to atone for neglecting their mothers the other 364 days of the year. Of course, I suspect she espoused that belief to prevent her children from spending their hard-earned, hard-to-come-by money on a gift for her on Mother's Day.

And in the movie "A Christmas Story," there is a scene where the mother hops up and down, up and down, from the dinner table to fetch various things for her husband and sons. The narrator (the oldest son, Ralphie, as an adult) then dryly remarks, "My mother hasn't had a hot meal in fifteen years." That scene takes on special meaning for me now.

Also, I think I may have racked up some extra points for dealing with the massive nosebleed that William had at 2 a.m., requiring me to break out my Super Special Laundry Skills. You'll all be glad to know, I'm sure, that all the blood came out of the Star Wars sheets.

So yes, I love the recognition on Mother's Day. No, so it didn't require any formal schooling or advanced degrees. And yes, I've also gotten some great joy out of it. But I'd say I've definitely put in some blood, sweat and tears into this motherhood thing, and I'm glad that it counts for something.

I hope all you mothers and grandmothers and great-grandmothers out there are having a lovely Mother's Day yourselves. As always, I have to thank my own mother for the fact that I'm here at all; thanks, Mom. And thanks to my mother-in-law for providing a lovely husband for me. And thank you to my grandmother, Mama Lou, too.

Here are some photos that David took of me and William after church in the front yard....




































Here we are, checking out the blossoms on our baby dogwood tree: