The Day We Celebrated Mother's Day

I have always loved Mother's Day. When I was a little kid I would actually get so excited about it that I couldn't sleep the night before. I loved making breakfast for my mom and was always excited to give her our presents. I love that there is a day where we can celebrate our wonderful moms.

I remember one of my favorites involved us giving my mom an oriental tea set. I was so excited that I really don't think I ever went to sleep the night before. Some time around 5:00 a.m. I couldn't take it anymore and decided to go in a wish her a happy Mother's Day. I was so excited and proud of the gift. But knowing what I know now, I realize that having a child wake her up at 5:00 a.m. was one of the worst ways I could have helped her celebrate. But, she loved the tea set and made me feel like the early wake-up call was something special.
My least favorite Mother's Day was when I was a junior in high school. I was still as excited as ever for the big day, but had been feeling awful the whole week. The last thing I wanted was to be sick on Mother's Day. I wanted to make her breakfast in bed and do nice things for her, which she would never let me do if I was sick. Well, when I woke up that morning I realized I was way beyond sick. At the ripe old age of 17, I had a horrendous case of Chicken Pox. They always say they are worse the older you are... that is no exaggeration. I looked disgusting and I felt like I was going to die. Most of all I was so upset about totally ruining Mother's Day for my mom. But being the Super-mom that she is, not only was she OK about it, she acted like she was glad. Not that she wanted me to be sick, but glad that she could take care of me when I clearly needed some help. We'd always joked about me getting chicken pox on my wedding day, so I think she was just glad that it wouldn't effect anything like that (just the AP History test). Talk about being a wonderful mom. That really describes my mom to a tee... she loves being a mom and she is so good at it because it is automatic. When you are a great person you are a great mom. She has done so many wonderful and selfless things for me throughout my life. I just hope that some of her goodness will rub off on me so that I can be the same kind of mom to my girls. But I am extremely grateful that there is a vaccine for Chicken Pox now.

I am also grateful for Kyle's mom. She lives in Boise so we don't get to see her nearly as often as we would like to, but it is always so much fun when we get to visit whether it is here or in Boise. The last time she came here, we ended up having a really really busy weekend. Kyle and I both ended up with lots of meetings and obligations that we had to attend, so we weren't around even half as much as would have liked to have been. Not only did Carol understand and support us in all the things that were going on, but she also made sure that the girls were taken care of and having a great time. She also managed to hem a skirt for me and keep everything around our house running smoothly. I appreciated that more than she will ever know. It seems like everything else in life is so much easier to take when your home and family are taken care of... she made sure that happened and I will be forever grateful for her help.

I am so lucky to have so many wonderful mothers in my life. Besides having the best mom in the world. I also have a wonderful mother-in-law, as well as amazing grandmothers, aunts, sisters, and cousins. If that wasn't enough, I am also surrounded by my friends that are truly some of the most fantastic moms I know. All of these women teach me on a daily basis about being a good mom. I am so thankful to have their examples, encouragement and friendship. I really love that on those days when the only way I will make it through the day is with a 64 oz diet coke and some good laughs, there is always someone who will go with me :)

I didn't get to see my mom on Mother's Day this year, but got to talk to her lots as I enjoyed the day with my two sweet girls and husband. They made the day so special and we had a wonderful time together. Kyle made strawberry waffles for breakfast and Steak Oscar for dinner (my absolute favorites) and it was wonderful. We also got to just hang out and play a few games. It was a wonderful day and I am so grateful for my family and for our wonderful moms.