Happy Mom's Day

What a great day. Woke up to go to church. Had a great service while there. Then went off to brunch with the in-laws and a few family friends. Came home to get in a good nap (mmmm, naps) and am now bonding with the hubs while the kiddos are tucked tight in their beds. I love being a mom.

Weird today that I have such mixed emotions, emotions I wasn't necessarily prepared for. I'm thinking A LOT of Tariku's mommy. I have this picture in my head of her, though I have no idea what she looks like, never met her, have no idea how she smiles or cries. But with as much love for life as Tariku has, I picture he had to have gotten it from his mom. In the Ethiopian culture the child rearing falls to the mother and so I can't help but imagine he was taught to love life and laugh often from his mommy.

I'm just wishing that she got to see him today. I'm wishing she got to get a mother's day hug from him and I wish she got to see him dance in the car today. Today, more than any of my 5 mother's days, I have some DEEP gratitude for being a mom. Not only a mom to Trysten and Dailah, but a mom to Tariku who I did nothing to deserve but was blessed with anyway.

Sometimes I imagine Tariku's mommy and myself meeting in heaven. There won't be any translators, it will be the two of us sipping Ethiopian coffee laughing at all the funny things Tariku did in life. We'll be holding hands and sitting in a comfortable presence that mothers often do because we already know the secret to a happy life. We'll watch Tariku playing with all of his brothers and sisters and I won't need to say thank you because she'll be able to see I was thankful every day of my life with the way I raised him. She'll see my thankfullness in the man he became. We'll just sit, bonded in our mothering of the same boy that God blessed us both with.

I really can't wait for that day to happen, especially on a day like today. I am so thankful to her for doing such an amazing job in Tariku's first few years and for raising him to be such a delightful little boy. Though I have the reins now, the reins still look and smell like her and I'll do my best to keep it that way. What a delightful mothers day gift I was given.

Other than those incredibly joyous feelings :) I have deep gratitude for my mommy who also raised me quite well if I must say so myself. The mom who I'm quickly becoming like and haven't tried stopping it more than once or twice. Interestingly I was also thinking about all the things I had promised myself I would never do to my kids that she once did to us and I've absolutely done every single one. That's when you know you have a great mom, I think. So thanks for being the best example and a truly loving, beautiful, fun-loving person.

So Happy Mother's Day to everyone out there who is lucky enough to call themselves by that name. May we wear our mom badge's (but not jeans) proudly today!