mother's day 2013

via

happy mother's day!

what a wonderful thing to have one day a year dedicated to us moms.
i love mother's day and not just because i get sweet cards and lovin' from my boys,
i also love it because it causes me to reflect on my mother and all she did and continues
to do for me. {i don't do that enough}.

this day also makes me think about my role as a mom,
and how my life has changed since i became one.

everything changed for me once i became a mother.

the lens in which i saw the world was profoundly different than the
lens i was looking through before i became a mom.
the things that mattered to me before suddenly became trivial.
i was responsible for another human being {beyond myself}.
i was changed forever.

there was no way around it....no going back.

i started caring more deeply about my health, the world, politics, education,
how i spent my free time, my relationships, my career, and the future.  

everything changed and everything mattered more.
{i imagine most father's feel the same}.

so today, as i think about my mother,
i remember the good, the bad and the ugly - like the time she dumped my
bowl of soup on my lap for being a mouthy teenager. she did it. {i deserved it}.
i think about how much she sacrificed for me, and how much she taught me
through her 'sayings'. you know those things moms always say.
here are a few i remember:

"rise and shine" {mom never allowed me to sleep past 10am - EVER!  she'd come into my bedroom, open the shades/blinds and say you aren't going to waste the day away. if i resisted, she'd come back in.  she made sure i didn't waste my day away.  to this day, i credit my mum for my being a morning person}

"nothing good happens after midnight" {my curfew was midnight....no matter what age i was.  as long as i lived in my parent's home, that was the rule.  i had to move out to get around it, or sleep over at a girlfriends who had a later curfew}. *grin*  

"you'll never know what type of car to buy, until you drive a few"{mom's way of reminding me not to get serious about any one boy in high school. she wanted me to date a lot, have a social life with girlfriends, and just well, be a kid. she'd say you have your  entire adult life for a serious relationship. she was right.

"wait until your father gets home" {mom wasn't the disciplinarian in our home so she'd use the threat of us answering to my father to keep get us back in line}.   

"be a good friend and pick good friends" {she encouraged me to think about my friendships - shared values, interests, trustworthiness, etc.  i didn't always get it right, but along the way, i learned something and have made true lifelong friends.}

"shut the door. this isn't a barn" {with a house full of kids running in and out and living in the south where air-conditioning is a necessity, we heard this often}

these are just a few of her ''momisms' that came to mind, but there are LOTS more.
and can you believe as a mom, i am creating my own now.  {just ask my boys}

~  how did i spend my mother's day?
it was rather quiet.  c treated me to breakfast at my favorite little cafe,
the little guys presented me with homemade gifts. 
c gave me a giftcard for a mani/pedi {a welcome gift as i am in desperate need for one}
oh and i almost forgot.  i enjoyed our pool for the FIRST time.
the boys go in all the time but now that the water temperature is 78,
it's doable for mom.