Mother's Day

Teen2, Me, Teen1 in 1997

Teen1 recently asked, "What do you want for Mother's Day, Mommy?" And I pondered the question wondering if I should answer with a politically correct thing like: a big party with my family...or the truth: a quiet day puttering in my garden and someone else to do the cooking.

So what exactly should Mother's Day be? A day to surround yourself with people or a day to sidestep your responsibilities and nurture yourself? It's every mother's dilemma, isn't it? If you say you'd like to be alone, they will be hurt and feel like maybe you don't really love them. If you say you'd like to have a party and invite lots of family, you'll be working on your special day.


Luckily some of my favorite Mommy Moments have been the little daily ones; playing peek-a-boo, teaching them walk and talk, sharing my love of art and nature, meeting up in the afternoon to discuss our days, cooking together, sharing meals, laughing at ourselves. So maybe I have been celebrating Mother's Day in the best possible way all along: just enjoying Teen1 and Teen2 in those little snippets of every day life. So my answer to Teen1's question was the politically correct one: "A lovely day with my family" because after all, there's no need to be greedy, I've already celebrated 6438 wonderful Mother's Days since Teen1 was born.