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My Mother’s Day was not picture perfect. I did not relax in a massaging chair with an iced coffee and a book while getting pampered with a pedicure. I did not enjoy a Mother’s Day brunch with girlfriends while we laughed and sipped mimosas. I did not relish a few kid-free hours and some uninterrupted time to write.
Instead, I woke up that morning in Maddie’s bed where I had slept with her the night before. I had watched her toss and turn. I had worried. I had gently stroked her hair away from her clammy face. I had cleaned up her vomit. I had googled “food poisoning.” I was reminded in a very real way of the depth of a mother’s love.
I spent almost the entire Mother’s Day in the kitchen. I made appetizers and salads and chicken ka-bobs and pie. I burnt a lot of bacon and filled our entire house with smoke. I replaced the fresh bacon with store-bought Bacon Bits and laughed when Katie observed that “Daddy never burns the food, but Mommy always does.”
I sneaked off for a few minutes to read late in the afternoon. I snuggled up on the couch in the sun room and opened my Kindle. But my solitude didn’t last long. Katie quickly found me and snuggled up on top of me with her own pile of books. I closed my Kindle and my eyes, and I listened to Katie’s sweet voice recite story after story.
Soon, our house was filled with family. My mom and sister and nieces and nephews and sister-in-law came for dinner. The meal was delicious, and I spent Mother’s Day with the finest group of women I know.
Maybe it was picture perfect after all.
Murphy's Law 
I hope Maddie’s feeling better. What a beautiful way to spend Mother’s Day…even all of the messiness…isn’t that what life really is?!?! Your posts always make me smile and show such warmth, Dana!! LOVE this one today!
Mother’s Day comes in all kinds of flavors doesn’t it? I find myself wondering what has built the culture of unrealistic expectation so high… it’s a day. I am glad you go to be with your mom and hope Maddie is feeling better. Katie reading her books while snuggled with you had to feel pretty good.
I’m learning to lower my expectations of Mother’s Day and my birthdays (Why do they have to fall in the same month for us?!!?) because they never live up to the hype in my head. Unlike you, I didn’t have to clean up vomit (Yikes!). But I had to leave the botanical garden we went to due to Isabelle’s incessant complaints about it being too hot for her. (It’s like she’s a 94 year old woman!). To me, Mother’s Day is just another day, right. Maybe those spa days will happen when our girls grow up. (Hopefully they’ll treat us!)
Sorry your Maddie was sick. Great pic! You look like your sis (or is it the other way around?). Katie reading stories to you is a memory you’ll cherish for all the Mother’s Days to come!
Hope Maddie is feeling better. Although you day wasn’t in being pampered, it sounds like it was filled with people you love. A perfect day.
I had much the same day and after buying sandwiches, driving them to the fishing hole, carting my mother back to the bus, I sat on my porch and thought about what a perfect life I have. Glad Maddie is feeling better.
A perfect way to end a night so perfect night it sounds like . . . but so glad Maddie was better and able to enjoy the family!
Perfect is just a myth – it’s what we make of our time here and how we choose to value what we have. That picture tells a wonderful story – it’s perfect for the best reasons.
It sounds to me like you have your values in just the right place. Time spent with family eating and drinking and laughing and making memories is what will lighten your heart and help you when the rough days (and nights) inevitably come.
What a great way to move through the day packed with some of everything for a mom. Always a new challenge 🙂
When I started reading your post, I thought it was going to be complain-y, but not at all. Your mother’s day was everything that mothers are about, caring, caring, caring.
Love it — my husband loves his pie burnt to this day because his mother always burned them. The line: “I was reminded in a very real way of the depth of a mother’s love.” was my favorite. So important to remember on Mother’s Day. Thanks for sharing and Happy Mother’s Day!
Clare
Love this. And yes, it was picture perfect, from beginning to end!
It may not have been the day in your dreams, but it was a day with love multiplied over and over. Those are the memories you will savor.
Glad your day took a turn for the better!