Happy Mother's Day

Today was Mother's Day. 
Not my first but it felt like the most special thus far.

I woke up around 7 to the sound of my husband ushering Abby & Wyatt out of my room so that I could sleep a bit longer.  I am always up by 7 because that is when the children wake up.  Even if they get in bed with me, it usually pushes me out.
They got out, got dressed and went outside to help Daddy open the pool.
May 8th and they were out there pulling the cover off, scooping the leaves out and dumping the chemicals in.
At about 8:20 I rolled out of bed, into the kitchen and poured a big, hot cup of coffee.  While Jay is on the road I usually make a quick Keurig cup and rush out the door.  But when he's home (Mother's Day or not!) he almost always makes a whole pot.  And while the K-Cup is better than Instant and more convenient than making a pot for one person, it is neither big enough nor hot enough to truly satisfy that coffee luxury in the morning.
With my big, steaming cup of coffee I stepped out on the deck.  The trees are filling in with green leaves, the grass is getting borderline long, the fresh mulch is perfect and brown and while there are not a lot of colorful flowers yet, I can see where they're planted and picture how they'll look in a few weeks.  This is the most beautiful time of year because everything is fresh, new, gorgeous and full of anticipation.  What's to come...  warmth, sunshine, playtime, swimming, cold beers on hot nights and relaxation.  (Oh, and the weeds haven't taken over yet!)
Taking it all in, I see the kids running around the yard screeching and laughing.  They're playing with Wyatt's car and just basically giddy for being giddy.  That's the kind of pure joy you wish you could bottle and save for adulthood.  They know nothing of stress or worry, they only know the here and now - and the here and now is awesome.

Jay was playing with the filter, adding chemicals, scooping crap & bugs, doing his best to avoid scary spiders and other heeby-jeebies in the pool storage box.
Maybe it was 60 degrees, the sun was shining but the ground was still wet.  It was a perfect morning.  I might as well have been in a Folgers commercial.

We had brunch reservations at 11:00 so I had no intention of eating at home.  An all-you-can-eat-buffet was about to meet it's match and I wasn't wasting an calories with food I had been staring at for a week.

The Bagen Family at the Hotel Thayer, Mother's Day 1984 or 5, I think.
This is the last time I went to a Mother's Day Buffet Brunch and I still remember it, the chocolate mousse, specifically. 
The mousse, and my disappointment at arrival when I saw "thayer" while hearing "fair" the entire car ride there. 

The kids got dressed in their fancy clothes, I showered and got ready in peace (thank you again, dearest husband) and we were actually out the door on time.

At the Brunch we were joined my in-laws (of whom I took no pictures, let the record show I am so sorry I missed the opportunity to get a picture of them with the kids while everyone was dressed so nicely.  Why didn't anyone remind me?) and my very good friend Jody with Q & K.  You may remember previous references to these friends/neighbors who have become so much more than that over the years.





The food was delicious, the company was delightful and I was so at peace and happy with my life, my decisions, my friends and the people (friends, family & community) that I choose to surround myself with and be a part of my life.

This brings me to my initial point, that this was my best Mother's Day thus far because I spent the majority of it reflecting and truly appreciating what I have in my life.  Not the stuff, the stuff. 

 Sometimes I worry that my kids don't appreciate how fortunate they are, I worry that they don't realize that their daily blessings are not the same for every kid.  Then, on days like today, I realize that while they don't walk around with wings on their backs and halos on their heads, they do hear us and they are learning.  I see their manners, their composure, their innocent sweetness that makes all the sweat and tears disappear and only pure joy fills my heart.  The pure joy I wish I could bottle.