Today was my first Mother’s Day as a mom of two kids. My family is complete, and this was the first year I could celebrate it. That’s not true, I celebrate my family in tiny ways every single day. Today just happened to be a day I got more flowers than usual, more homemade cards than usual, and an added perk of breakfast at my favorite local diner. My husband told me last night that it was my day to sleep in – I secretly laughed at him. Honey, who is going to breastfeed he baby when he wakes up at 7am? He tried, but snored through the little baby coos to alert me that a hungry baby was just ten minutes away. The effort was enough. Plus, when I came home Saturday night after spending the day with my grandmother, mom, and brother, the kitchen was pretty much spotless.
Even though my husband was stuck doing cleanup duty at our pool co-op, I took the kids to visit my mom and grandmother. It was really, REALLY important that I get to go see my grandmother. My daughter loves her so much, and my grandma lights up every time she sees her. Of course what’s not to love about seeing the baby, he laughs and smiles at everyone. I’m pretty much the taxi for my kids, because as soon as we walk in the door, I get demoted to third place. I’m fine with it, I hung back with my little brother who is home for the summer from college. Later Saturday night we went to dinner at a hibatchi place. Kidlette has been to a restaurant like that before, but doesn’t remember it. It was fun, and the kids were fairly behaved. How could I ask for more?
Funny, now that I’m a mom (times two), the holiday feels like it doesn’t belong to me, but my mother and grandmother. Without them, and how they raised me, I wouldn’t be who I am. My mom was a single mom for a very long time, and my grandma lived just seven houses away. They both raised me. Yes my husband is my partner in parenting our kids, but a lot of what I know – for better or worse… – is because of those two women. On a day like today I can’t help but be grateful to them.
As far as my Mother’s Day, I didn’t get to sleep in, but I did get up and out of the house early to enjoy a breakfast, and then a few errands. After that, a few burgers on the grill and an afternoon of watching my husband play Kingdom Hearts II (actually more exciting for me than you think – I like the game but don’t know how to play console games). After the kids went to bed, I grabbed a glass of wine and started typing. Nice, low-key, simple, and with my family.
Besides, this Friday is a horrible, horrible day. My birthday.
[tags]mothers day, family, mother, grandmother[/tags]
