Mother's Day Moments

For the past several years, Mother's Day has been bitter sweet for me. I loved celebrating my own amazing mother and all of the wonderful things she does and adds to my life. However on that one particular day, there seemed to be something missing. Ok honestly for me as an adult, Mother's Day seemed like a celebration that I watched from the outside looking in. I never had to look farther than my own heart to know what it was...a child.

Fast forward to this year. WHAT A DIFFERENCE! The days leading up to and including Momma's day was peppered with several wonderful, wonderful moments that I never want to forget! I feel like there is a rosy glow of an expectant mommy all over my face. (And it isn't just the allergic reaction to a new over-aggressive cleanser - LOL!)

MOMENT ONE: Last weekend I went to the First Saturday Gallery Walk downtown with a few friends. At a stop in one of the shops, my friend Chad discovered an amazing lamp he just had to have. Well as one of the specials, with each purchase, the buyer could choose a Mother's Day note from a bowl. Chad picked one out, read it and handed it to me. I read it and handed it back to him. The woman behind the counter said we could look through the selections, but he declined saying he had picked out a good one. He then handed it to me and told me it was mine. My first Mother's Day card! It had the Jewish proverb: God could not be everywhere and therefore he made Mothers.

MOMENT TWO: I attended the annual Mother/Daughter breakfast and had scarcely sat down at my seat when my cousin Monica approached. She explained to me how every year she buys her mom a corsage to wear for Mother's Day and that this year, she also got one for the Mommy-to-be. She presented me with a beautiful corsage of vibrant pink, describing how she choose bright colors in honor of Ethiopia. She asked my mom to pin it on me. I welled up. (I may not be pregnant, but there is still some crazy emotions going on during this ride!)

MOMENT THREE: I with my 1-year-old niece, Leah, went to dinner with my best friend Aimee, her daughter Brynly (adopted from Ethiopia) and her parents (whom I adore!). During dinner her mom and dad present me with a gift bag. It has a wonderful Mommy-to-be card in it as well as a really cute butterfly bag that I can definitely put to use for Jacinda when she arrives! (At least I held it together in the restaurant and didn't turn on the waterworks!)

MOMENT FOUR: My mom told me that she had gathered the jewelry that I wore as a little girl and she wants me to have it, so Jacinda can wear it.

MOMENT FIVE: My dad presented my mom, my sister-in-law and myself with boxes of candy in celebration of Mother's Day. (The fact that he ate 1/2 of mine is beside the point. I mean I need to cut him a break, I don't even have a referral yet.) The real tear jerker is how far he has come in the whole acceptance of my decision to adopt. AMAZING!

So this really was my very best Mother's Day. And what made it even more monumental was the realization that each one is just going to get BETTER!