Mother's Day

Mother's Day has come and gone once again. Yet, reminders of the day are scattered around....a card I received from my parents...the flowering basket that my husband gave me....memories of time spent with my husband, kids and grandkids....

It was a good Mother's Day. I haven't always been able to say that.

When I was young, Mother's Day was a rushed, harried day. Between the church's Morning Worship Service and the Evening Service, we hurried through lunch and attempted to visit both of my grandmothers, delivering cards and gifts. There was no time to relax or to play. To me, as a child, Mother's Day was a day to be dreaded.

When I grew up and got married, I began to look forward to the day that I would become a Mother. March 21, 1984, was the day that our oldest child arrived, and I officially joined the motherhood club. I anxiously awaiting my first Mother's Day, expecting a day of being treated like a queen. The ladies at work were excited for me, eager to hear about my first Mother's Day.

That first Mother's Day came and went. I was underwhelmed and disappointed! Mother's Day was a bust! My husband did not buy me a card or a gift. I had expected the focus of the day to have shifted from my mother to me. That did not happen. And, on Monday, I had to face my coworkers and act like it was "no big deal" that my expectations of the day had not been met.

Year after year, I struggled with expectations of what I thought Mother's Day should be. Year after year, the focus continued to be on my mother -- where did she want to go for dinner? what did she want to do on Mother's Day? The day was never about me.

Finally, one year, I decided that I was going to change the focus. I told my husband and children where I wanted to go for lunch and what I wanted to do on Mother's Day. I then told my mother my plans and invited her to join us if she wanted. The shift of focus had finally turned. That was the first Mother's Day that met my expectations.

I've finally gotten over being disappointed with Mother's Day....I no longer have any expectations of the day. It is what it is. Anything other an ordinary day is a bonus. And since Mother's Day of 2012 was not an ordinary day, it falls in the category of a good Mother's Day.

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