The Mother’s Day Gift

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    Riding home from school late yesterday my 10-year-old asked, “Mama, when’s Mother’s Day?”

    I caught myself adding up the days, the numbers on the calendar that have flown by over the past incredibly busy few weeks and answered (while laughing out loud), “Actually, it’s this weekend!”

    His panic set in. I watched his face in the rearview mirror as his mind raced, then the words started to flow…

    “So, does the Statue of Liberty you got last week count as our present? Do the other boys have something for you? Uh, I don’t have any money!”

    What could have been a wave of disappointment on my part quickly became amusement. He cared enough to panic! And good grief, even I had forgotten it was Mother’s Day weekend!

    "Libby" arrived a few weeks back...long before an official Mother's Day celebration!
    “Libby” arrived a few weeks ago…long before an official Mother’s Day celebration!

    Last year the five boys and their father remembered. I got kettle bells, pots of flowers and Thor (yes, Thor, because every woman needs an action figure with a 6-pack, right?). They cooked dinner, celebrated me, and we had a party.

    Last year I remembered, and probably reminded them in some unintentional way, so they were under pressure to “perform.” They felt they had to make it a Hallmark movie of the week … parade in with gifts, make me sit as they worked … you know the drill.

    But we all know it’s not just about one day.

    My boys – and Brad – celebrate me throughout the year. They fold clothes, make me sit still long enough to binge watch bad TV with them, offer to cook and surprise me with flowers from the yard all through the year. They protect me from anything they find threatening. They take care of me in their own boy’ish ways.

    And this is why we all forgot Mother’s Day was here. Every day is my Mother’s Day. Every day is full of celebration in our house.

    Don’t think I’m letting them off the hook, though. As we drove in from school I pointed out to Aidan a backyard project to finish – my two new picnic tables needed to be stained and the fence needed to be painted. So, we’re going to let that be my Mother’s Day present this year.

    Then we’ll have a place for all seven of us to have hamburgers Sunday afternoon. Because all seven of us together is the best gift they could ever give me anyway!

    The Mother's Day Gift - Columbia SC Moms Blog
    Celebrating every day is another wonderful part of our crazy life…
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    Lila Anna Sauls
    Lila Anna is the happily unbalanced mother of five boys. She is an advocate for homeless families, a recovering triathlete, and a sleep deprived 40-something who doesn’t see her yoga mat enough. She was blessed enough to have three wonderful boys (Michael, 14, Colin, 12 and Aidan, 10) … then, after a seven year break and just as she turned 40, got what she calls her “buy one, get one free babies,” Heath and Graeme (now 3). Once fiercely independent, Lila Anna now relies heavily on the help, kindness and understanding of a very loyal group of friends she calls her “village.” This village allows her to dedicate her heart and time to Trinity Housing and St. Lawrence Place – the non-profit for homeless and at-risk families she leads as President/CEO – all the while managing to run a house full of baseball and football schedules and four different carpools. Lila Anna is passionate about all children, especially those living at risk or in poverty. She treats her St. Lawrence Place children as her own, and advocates for them at the State House, at City Hall, or on any given street corner. Her position at Trinity Housing gives her the chance to give homeless families and their children a voice. She has been a guest lecturer at USC and Columbia College, and has presented nationally on the topics of child poverty, education and family homelessness. She is a native of Springfield in rural Orangeburg County, home of the Governor’s Frog Jump (thus her frog tattoo), and is a graduate of USC with a degree in Journalism and Mass Communications. She got her Master’s from Columbia College in Organizational Change and Leadership, and graduated a few weeks before giving birth to her twins. Her five boys are just like their daddy, “Saint” Brad – fun-loving, even keeled, and incredibly helpful. She enjoys cooking with the help of at least one set of small hands, running (slowly) with friends, and daydreaming about her next trip to Edisto Beach or New York City. One day she hopes to compete in triathlons again in the Athena division (thus her owl tattoo). Most of all, she loves just hanging out with her boys…all six of them. Lila Anna and her boys live in Forest Acres, where they are two blocks from the ballfield and no more than 10 minutes away from everything else. She is happy to share how she embraces her unbalance … and all the fun and love that comes with it.

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