Mama's Day

Ahhh, Mother's Day. A day for moms everywhere to kick back and relax, appreciate their children, and just generally enjoy themselves however they wish. Hmmm....maybe for some! Mother's Day in our world is a busy one. Not that it's just another day mind you. I did play the Mother's Day card a couple times yesterday. I made Craig drive home from Buffalo, and I did have him put Jacob to bed when I was too dead tired to get off the couch (seriously, I was asleep at 9). But while it was a great day, I did not get a lot of time to relax. And you know, as much as my body was protesting this morning when I got out of bed and got ready for another week of work, it's ok. You know why? Because I'll go to Buffalo to celebrate two other moms (and two grandmas, as well) any day, just because I'm thankful we still have moms and grandmas to celebrate. Mother's Day is only as special as the moms in your life. And as much as I'd love a relaxing Mother's Day of sleeping in, breakfast in bed, time to shop and spend time with my family, the crazy busy Mother's Days we have now are special. While we hope they'll be like this for many years to come, with long drives to Buffalo and back, we don't really know how much longer we'll have that privilege of celebrating Mother's Day with two moms and two grandmas. So while we can, I'll put off my relaxing Mother's Day for a wonderful day with family. I've been reminding myself of this for a few days now, but it really hit home last night when we were driving home and I was reading Facebook updates on Craig's phone. One of my best friends from high school lost her mom this past Christmas, and had the saddest status update about how Mother's Day wasn't the same without her mom around, that her dad forgot to get her a card (because her mom always did stuff like that), her husband was working, she did most of the cooking, etc. She did mention how much she loves her boys, but you could tell it was a bummer day for her. And I realized how ridiculously lucky I am (yet again) to have all of these great moms to celebrate.

And not only that, but I spent a good chunk of the day marveling at how blessed I am to have the little boy that makes me a mom. Despite a crazy off-schedule day, he was remarkably good. We had a busy morning running around to get ready and pick up some last minute gifts, then the long drive to NT. He slept for most of it, and slowly warmed up once we got to my parents'. The fact that my parents pulled out their yard sale find of two mini-lacrosse sticks helped!

He ate quite well, enjoying a delicious pork tenderloin, some broccoli, and some applesauce, then had a bowl of ice cream and strawberries. At first he wasn't really down with the ice cream, but slowly he got used to the cold and decided it was pretty yummy! Then he sat down and shared Grandpa's with him! I'm sure my dad reveled in this moment since he spent most of Jacob's first year trying to sneak him a dab of whipped cream, ice cream or chocolate, always coming up against my objections since those were generally no-no's during year 1.

Our time there wasn't nearly long enough, yet we were off again to Craig's family dinner. We had a great meal and some fun conversation, though Jacob got a little antsy after a while at the table. He kept wanting to run around the restaurant, saying he wanted to watch basketball (it was on TV in the bar), but then taking off two seconds after we'd sit down to watch it. But all things considered, he wasn't too bad. Thank goodness for the crayons I keep stashed in the diaper bag! Again, our time there wasn't long enough, but we decided to head back to Rochester after the meal was over for a few reasons. It was probably good that we did, because Jacob had a rough second half of the drive and as mentioned previously, I was passed out on the couch by 9pm. I may be getting a cold. It held off a bit today, though I'm definitely more congested than usual. It could be a dose of allergies, but the weather doesn't seem compatible with that, so I'm bracing for the worst.

In general yesterday, though, Jacob was so much fun. I find myself so amazed every time he learns a new world or shows off his new skills. He's so good with his colors--even the daycare folks are amazed. He says a lot of random words now, and can identify so many more. Just tonight, we were reading a book that had the letters A, B, and C across the top of the page, and he identified B and C! Without me asking or hinting! It was awesome! Yesterday I was counting as I gave him his medicines, and after I said, "One...", he chimed in with "Two"! I think I was so shocked that I never got to three or four! (Yep, four things every morning...his quick-digestion meds, his acid reflux meds, his vitamins and his allergy meds--let's hope those first two go away after his visit to the pulmonary specialist later this month.) He's just such an amazing, handsome little man these days. I even love when he's running down the hallway in our house, always a man on a mission. And yep, nothing's cuter than when he's running to the bathroom buck-naked for his bath. That tushie is the cutest little thing. He's so sweet and so silly that some days I can almost overlook his crazy moments. I feel so blessed to have such an amazing little boy.

Happy Belated Mother's Day to all the moms out there! Never forget how blessed you are :)