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!
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!