Mother’s Day Moments

So I like gifts. Is that a bad thing to say? My husband is an excellent shopper (he strikes the perfect balance of responding to hints and using his own good taste) and it’s nice to open something new and special and just for me. So while I will soon switch gears to the whole ‘my-children-are-the-best-gifts-of-all’ spiel, I would like to say that I was thrilled when Frannie and Maggie presented me yesterday morning with three little jewelery-store boxes containing the following additions for my Pandora bracelet:

The first one seems especially sweet because it’s like four hearts gathered together…just like the four of us in our little family! Get it? (I said sweet, not deep and thought-provoking. No reading-between-the-lines for that one.) But wait a sec…the second one is actually comprised of five hearts. Uh oh!

I’ve been trying to remember what I have received other years for Mother’s Day, but sometimes the Valentine’s Day/Mother’s Day/My Birthday succession blends enough that I can’t distinguish one from the other. I can remember last year, when Mom asked Frannie if she had helped Daddy pick out a Mother’s Day gift for me (seeking only a yes or no answer) she announced, too quickly to be silenced, “Yep! An angel for the garden!” And that’s exactly what it was.

I have no recollection of gifts two years ago, but I vividly remember the four-generation photo taken of my Grandma, Mom, me, and Frannie. I had two weeks left before Maggie’s due date and I thought I was lookin’ good. I’m sure we all have that moment during pregnancy where we think “wow…the numbers on the scale are going up, but I still look pretty great!” And then we make the mistake of using a store dressing room, a poorly lit restroom, or in my case, looking at one of the most horrible photos in the history of time. I only have one thing to say: those of you who told me I was “all baby” were LYING!!! (At least my mother was always honest. Just the other day she was talking about an expectant mom who “is really wide from behind. You know, the way Kate gets when she’s pregnant.”)

My girls were excited to present me with a Mother’s Day breakfast, but they’re a little young for anything too culinary. (Plus I knew we were having a real brunch at my parents’.)  When asked what I wanted, I simply suggested that they pop the last Tim Horton’s chocolate chip muffin from the day before (a leftover from the bribe we use to get fearful Frannie to take some risks during Saturday morning swimming lessons) on a plate. Mind you, it was cut open, buttered and warmed, so it was still more exciting than my usual morning fare.

This was my fifth Mother’s Day, so I think my mindset has finally shifted into the mom-identity (mom and daugher and granddaughter at the same time!) but for the first couple of years I kept thinking about what I could do to honour Mom and Grandma, forgetting that I should be soaking up some of the mom-attention myself. Since we celebrated my husband’s birthday throughout April (as in “Can you please take the recycling out?” “What? Me? But it’s my birthday month!”) I think I’ll try to milk this holiday for another few days at least.

Oh, right, I almost forgot: having my daughters is truly the greatest gift of all. No, really, it is. We are so blessed that it has become all too easy to take our real gifts for granted. I am grateful for our health, our extended family and friends, our home, and our jobs, in this day and age when those things are not guaranteed. But while I am well aware that a charm bracelet pales in comparison to two beautiful little girls who want nothing more in life right now than to be close to their mommy, I will openly admit that it was kind of nice to unwrap a present too.

How did you spend your Mother’s Day? Are there any other gift-lovers out there willing to out themselves? You can go by “anonymous”; it’s okay. Come on – how many of you would rank some time alone as the greatest gift of all? I’d love to hear your Mother’s Day stories, both the material and the memorable. And no one here is judging you if your ideal celebration wasn’t all about your offspring. I’m sure we’ve all used the same line with our children: “Kids’ day? Kids’ day is every day!”