Each of us has special gifts that we are unwilling to part with. I’m talking about those gifts that our children gave us; you know the ring that has since turned green that the handsome 5 yr. old just “had” to get you for Christmas, and the paper weight that your beautiful 6 yr. old girl made you for Mother’s Day. It’s not just the gift that fills your heart, but the emotion and innocence in which it is presented.
Being a mother is a challenging yet rewarding experience that I wouldn’t have passed up for all the riches in the world. It is the truest gift; the gift that keeps on giving! As our children grow we can see the love and tenderness that we (as parents) have shown while nurturing them, and how that love allows them to grow and love themselves as well as others. As difficult as this challenge is, imagine raising children in a military family; that’s our life. We moved on average every 3.5 years. We moved overseas, coast to coast, and even a week before Christmas. We’ve been to places we have loved and others that we absolutely had to make the best of. Now you may wonder why we do it. We do it in support of our husbands who fight to defend our freedoms, we do it without regret, and we do it over and over again. We make a house a home and pray that our children will fit in and adjust quickly….they always do. We hope that someday these experiences will make them resilient young adults….and it has. I know that our children are better off socially, emotionally, and intellectually for just that reason. I wouldn’t have done it any differently and my reward is their ability to share the memories of all the wonderful places we have been. Although they are out of our house and on their own, we still make room for them whenever and wherever we move. We share information with them about the location; who we’ve met, what it’s like, and when they’ll come to visit; because our home, even though the address may change, will ALWAYS be their home.
My fondest memories of our son Sean are the ones of him making me breakfast for Mother’s Day: this has been going on since he was 8 yrs. old. That first breakfast was simple. Toast, juice, and cereal were all that he could manage back then, but this was the BEST breakfast I had up until that point. That was 1997! Since then his culinary skills have surpassed that of the thoughtful young boy, and grown more than I had imagined. To this day he still loves and makes a great breakfast, but I must say I miss that Mother’s Day tradition. He makes up for it when he visits by making everyone breakfast. You can see the joy and pride in his eyes as we indulge. Our daughter Amanda was always (and still is) very creative. She would make things from pottery, paper, and whatever she thought would make a great gift. One year she made a door stopper from a rock. She painted it and put a flower on it; this is my most favorite gift from her…that was 1993. She too was 8 yrs. old. She still makes me cards and jewelry for special occasions and I wouldn’t have it any other way. While they don’t realize it at the time, kids are always touching our hearts and making it impossible to ever stop loving them….even as they leave the house and branch out. We love them differently and take pride in their achievements and accomplishments. The take-home message I’d like you to get from this is that although everything will not always go according to plan in life and that’s ok, because in the end there’s always wine!
As we approach Mother’s Day 2011, I remember the son and daughter who grew up to be the wonderful young adults that are loving, confident, and able to put others before themselves. I sleep soundly knowing that I had something to do with that. Amanda and Sean, YOU are my greatest gift!
Happy Mother’s Day to ALL mothers, single dads doing it alone, and mothers-to-be!
