Mother's Day

I had a pretty good Mother's Day this year. Not that my Mother's Days have ever been bad, but this year Evelynn really got on board with the holiday and had set plans for how Mother's Day was supposed to play out. She came into our room before Doug and I were awake and announced "Mom! You need to stay in bed while Dad and I make you breakfast!" Cue me smiling and daddy getting out of bed. :) I did have Michael brought to me because he needed to eat and Doug is not properly equipped for that, but it was fun to hear my blueberry lemon pancakes being made, and they were yummy! I got an enameled cast iron pot for my Mother's Day gift, which I am SO excited about. At church I gave a talk about honoring mothers which I think went over very well. Then I lead the primary kids in singing Mother, I Love You complete with sign language for all the moms. They did a great job. Then I did the regular church stuff in primary and then came home and made rolls while Doug did the mound of dishes in our sink. Then I took a nap snuggled up with my hubby. Oh yeah, it was nice. Then we went to dinner with the Jacobson clan in Draper, where we discovered that Evelynn had a temperature of 102.8, which meant that we then went home and put kids to bed. Other than that hiccup, and the fact that Michael has ANOTHER ear infection, my Mother's Day was pretty good. I love my kids, and I love being a mom. I complain on here sometimes, but it is very rewarding. As I was researching for my talk, I came across a talk by Elder Ballard that really touched me, even though I did not use it in my talk. He said:

First, recognize that the joy of motherhood comes in moments. There will be hard times and frustrating times. But amid the challenges, there are shining moments of joy and satisfaction.

Author Anna Quindlen reminds us not to rush past the fleeting moments. She said: “The biggest mistake I made [as a parent] is the one that most of us make. … I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of [my three children] sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages six, four, and one. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less” (Loud and Clear [2004], 10–11).

I have realized that I need to take more time to enjoy the moment's of motherhood, and not let my agenda or expectation rush me by the simple moments. I have made a commitment to find at least one time a day to enjoy a moment of motherhood, and to show a greater outpouring of love to each of my children than normal, just for a small moment. It's only been 3 days, and I've already reaped benefits.

Happy Mother's Day to all my lovely mother's out there, both the ones related to me and the ones who are not. I love you all so much and I'm so grateful to the influence you have been in my life.