Thoughts On Mother's Day

I have had the privilege of celebrating Mother's Day for the past 13 years.  My husband and I have been blessed with two beautiful girls, ages 13 and 5.  Our oldest daughter Rose, is our biological daughter.  She has been an easy child since the day she was born.  Our youngest daughter, Paige, came into our lives through adoption.  Life with Paige has been filled with the best and worst of times.  We are confident however, that God meant for us to be Paige's parents.

When I was a new mom I had great expectations on what I thought Mother's Day would mean for me.  It seemed obvious to me, that the day should be filled with cards and flowers, breakfast in bed, and not lifting a finger the entire day.  I fed into the media blitz, stereotype, of what the perfect Mother's Day should be……for perfect people.

Sadly, as the first Mother's Day came and went I was a bit disappointed.  I did not wake up to cards and flowers, nor was my breakfast made!  Worse yet, dirty diapers were waiting for me to change.  It was hard for me not to get upset, I had dreamt of having a perfect day and it wasn't perfect.  It had not occurred to me that my focus was all wrong.  It would take years for me to truly appreciate the true meaning of Mother's Day.

Now, years later, my thoughts on the ideal Mother's Day have changed.  While cards and flowers are nice, and I still like getting them, they are not what I expect to wake up to on the day.  I am happy to wake up knowing that I have 2 wonderful daughters to raise.  Having almost lost our youngest daughter, to a broken foster care system, has put my priorities straight.  

This year was by far my best Mother's Day ever.  We had a great day at home doing almost nothing.  I cleaned what I wanted to clean, I made my own breakfast and I cooked breakfast for my late sleeping teen.  Later in the day I snoozed on the couch with my lazy dogs.  For dinner, my husband cooked a gourmet dinner of Danish style pancakes, and everyone was happy. What more could a mother want?

As with many things in life, maturity makes all the difference.  Because of the many difficult circumstances we have been through with our youngest daughter, these past 3 years, I have come to appreciate the simple things in life.  Nothing is more important than the health and happiness of our children.  Nothing means more to mean than  the love of my husband and my girls.  God has given me the best gift I could ever want, He placed me on the path to my family.  I give thanks and praise, to Him, everyday.