Joy, week 19 — Mother’s Day Edition

Happy Mother’s Day!

I just finished reading a letter one of my daughters wrote me for Mother’s day, and I laughed so hard I had to wipe tears from my face as I finished.  I laughed for joy because what she wrote was so sweet, and also because some of it was so funny.  There’s nothing like reading a letter from one of your children that is unedited and which is just oozing with personality.  It’s been a great day, full of all kinds of life.  My youngest two were highly emotional today, the kids were nice as often as they argued with each other.  My sweet husband worked hard all day to make things go smoothly.  We ended up having guests for dinner tonight, and it was fun to watch my oldest daughter step up as Dad’s main assistant in the kitchen and help get all the food prepared.  It was fun to have the LDS missionaries here to eat with us, fun to watch the children work together, fun to be a family.

I feel like I experienced much of the spectrum of motherhood this week. I made mistakes, raised my voice, felt discouraged and frustrated.  I also laughed, praised and felt full of love.  I forgot a couple of things, but I was there for my youngest boy’s Kindergarten program, there to see the smile on his face and to watch him perform.  The week wasn’t pretty but it certainly worked out and I learned great things from it.

Yesterday we worked hard to clean the house and do more laundry.  It feels good tonight to be going to bed in a house that looks more like the one I love.  I haven’t had enough sleep and there is still much to do, but I feel more calm and happy today, more like I can handle what’s ahead.  Now, I might not feel that way tomorrow, but for tonight I feel up to the task.

There are so many women I love and admire whose faces have been in my mind throughout the week, women who have blessed my life tremendously.  I wish I’d been able to send them all a little token of my love.  I wanted to, planned to, and then life happened.  Early in the week I stood in line at a store, and the lady next to me in line picked up a nearby book full of gourmet homemade popsicle recipes.  It looked cute and tasty so I asked her what she thought.  She was honest, saying that it looked great, but wondered when she would ever find the time to actually make gourmet popsicles.  I agreed, saying, “There’s so much life going on at my house that I probably wouldn’t get to it until there’s no one around to eat them.”  We laughed and she said, “And isn’t that a wonderful thing, to have a home so full of life?”  True, true.

So today I’m grateful that my life and home is so full of life that almost everything else seems neglected.  I am so grateful to be  a mother. I am so grateful for the example of my own mother who has always chosen to put people first.  I am grateful for the life that is mine.  It’s a wonderful one.

Have a great week!

Jennifer