Happy Mother's Day to me!

I am really starting to love Mother's Day!

When my kids were young, Mother's Day was... nice. It just seemed like it always brought just as much work as any other Sunday and often more.

The primary kids singing was always a treat unless you were the one who had to teach them the song and try to get them to sing it in a way that would make their mothers cry - in a good way!

Having a special meal made just for you is another special treat until you find out the kitchen mess is yours too!

And don't even get me started on the gifts! Handmade wonders that are mine to dust forever and ever!!

Of course, I'm kidding. I did love every sweet little sentiment whether written, verbal or clay!

In our beloved First Ward (which we miss so much!) it was tradition to have the Young Women, Young Men and Priesthood take over primary so that all women could go to Relief Society on Mother's Day. That was a really nice treat for those of us who worked in primary and I loved it. I couldn't help but think, though, that what would have been really nice is not making young mothers come to church at all! No crying babies and squirming toddlers to contend with, no crayon fights to referee, no cheerio clean up on pew 9, no trying to stop a kid (who is sitting 3 kids away) from attempting to take an extra sacrament water with just a stern look and the list goes on!

Yes, my ultimate fantasy was that the Sunday before Mother's Day, the bishop would get up and announce that all mothers were to stay in bed on Mother's Day and all fathers were to get the kids ready, pack the diaper bag and bring the kids to church. I really didn't care what happened once they got there as long as I didn't have to go - guilt free - for just one Sunday! Am I the only one who harbored that fantasy?

I know. I'm not proud. I should have been more grateful and deep down I really was. It's just that it's so much work day after day after day and there is no rest on the Sabbath for mothers - it's just a different kind of work and it often requires teaching/babysitting other people's kids at church as well! What kind of rest is that? Ha ha.

Those really were good days... but it's so much better now!

I get to sit through sacrament meeting with nobody pestering me and I actually get to listen, and they still bring me a Mother's Day treat at the end of the meeting! Heck, I used to think it was a reward for not abandoning ship (aka heading home) when it seemed that I had completely lost control of the bench. But no! It seems that even if you didn't pin your toddler in a sacrament meeting wrestling match recently - you still get a reward! How sweet is that?

Today was a great day. We had LuDeen and Pat & Lori's family over after church for crepes and Paula Deen's hashbrown casserole that I saw demonstrated on Oprah (it was good.) LuDeen has always been a great mother-in-law and I just love her. She is one of a kind and seriously looks younger every year. How is that possible? We had a good time watching old home movies and playing a little bit of Beatles Rock Band.

My kids who are home treated me like a queen and one by one all of my other kids called to talk to me and tell me what a great mom I am. Scarlet called and sang me "Mother I Love Y0u" over the phone! It was too cute!!

A few years ago, I told my kids that for my birthday or Mother's Day or Christmas, I didn't want them to worry about giving me a gift. It is so hard to find a good gift for a parent or a grandparent that they don't already have. I did not want my kids to ever stress about getting me a gift. I told them that all I wanted on those occasions was for each of them to write down a memory from their childhood and give it to me. It can be about anything. It has been a wonderful thing and I treasure those memories.

Today was just the best day. I loved my kids when they were little and I miss it, but I am so loving them as adults! I am so blessed to have been able to be a mother so many times over and to have such great kids. My heart aches for every woman who desires to be a mother but is not able to for whatever reason. It's not fair. I know that God is mindful of their pleas and that their reward is coming... eventually. I am also sad for all those, like me, who lost their mothers at much too young of an age. It's been 28 years now that I've been without my mom, yet I am still more fortunate than many whose mothers died when they were much younger than I was.

To have my kids tell me how much they appreciate me is the best gift that any mother could receive. (Although jewelry is nice too! hint hint) I am truly honored to be a mother!