Saturday, May 12, 2007

Mother's Day Thoughts....


Seventeen years ago, I celebrated my first Mother's Day as a mother. I woke up this morning at my usual 6:30, and instead of rolling over and going back to sleep, I got up and got busy. It makes me feel good to take care of my family.
As I was thinking this morning about all the chaos in my life (mostly at work), I was also thinking about how lucky I am to have these 4 wonderful people to share my life with. I have a friend who is going through a painful divorce, and when we commiserate with each other, he reminds me to focus on the joy in my life.
Here are my joys:
Joseph - Joseph is 17. He has a man's body, but can still act so much like a child. He is talented in singing, dancing, acting, and photography. He is ranked #7 in his class and takes many Honors and AP courses. Even though he can be moody and irritable here at home, he is generally agreeable to the world at large, and everyone seems to like him. He is unfailingly kind to old ladies and small children. When he was born, I had had 2 miscarriages already and I was so grateful to have him. He didn't really find his "nitch" in the social order until junior high but he seems to be happy with who he is. He will attend his first prom tonight. (sigh)
Rachael - Rachael is 15, and growing more beautiful every day, although she doesn't seem to see it. Rachael is a talented artist and used to hand-draw her own line of greeting cards. She has a gorgeous voice and a generous heart. She is my comforter. She is the one who snuck off on her bike to a McDonald's 4 blocks away to get me a large Diet Coke (my standard drink) when she thought I was sad. Rachael was born only 19 months after Joseph and the two of them have been a pair ever since. She is sometimes shy, and sometimes the cut-up of the crowd. She is my only girl and unique in many ways. Rachael will learn to drive this summer.
Daniel - Daniel is almost 13. He, as the regular readers know, is my athlete. He was my youngest child, my "baby" for almost 6 years. Daniel has ADHD and was a real challenge when he was young. He has an incredible sense of humor. He wrote his own joke book in the 3rd grade. He is one of the few people I know who really likes who he is. He has a sense of the social order of Jr. High, but floats easily in and out of several groups. He is a kind and sensitive kid, and I grow more proud of him every day. I can't wait to see who he turns out to be.
Aaron - Aaron is 7. He is a cross between "Dennis the Menace" and Calvin from "Calvin and Hobbes". He, unfortunately, is the only one of my kids to suffer through a divorce and a lot of transitions in his little life. He doesn't remember what it was like to live with his dad. Aaron is smart and funny and very affectionate. He loves soccer and bowling and skee ball. His best friend right now is his bear Rick, but he gets along pretty well with his human classmates, too. He wasn't a "planned" event, but I wouldn't trade him for a million dollars. He can be an absolute angel, and when he flashes that smile at me, I can hardly turn him down. He's my boy.
Happy Mother's Day, everyone.
J.

7 comments:

Sayre said...

A beautiful post, HoosierGirl! You sound like you know what's important - and as moms, we KNOW that the people we brought into the world are the most important ones. They are the future of the planet.

Southern (in)Sanity said...

It is quite obvious from this post, and most that you write about your kids, that they mean so much to you. That's great - for you and for them.

Happy Mother's Day.

captain corky said...

Happy Mother's Day! Have a great day.

Unknown said...

I can tell you have great kids. It must be because they have a great mom! :-)

Happy Mother's Day!

e.Craig Crawford said...

Looks like you have four fantastic Mothers Day gifts, J. Great post!

Brother Dave said...

Hi J. Happy Mother's Day. What a terrific family you have. How neat that you take such joy in your children, and love them for the unique individuals they are.

And I think that they are fortunate to have such a wonderful Mom.

Jay said...

You have some pretty cool kids there.