The 5 For 50 Project: Mother's Day

For more free Mother's Day ideas: I love and relate to the free ideas on this blog (almost at the end of the post), suggestions like a nap! Or sleeping in. When I told my dentist that visits to the dentist chair have become a huge treat because all I have to do is sit/lie there for an hour, he said that he hears that from moms all the time! Ha.

Last year my kiddos showered me with handmade cards and notes and sweet little acts of affection. There is nothing that quite fills my heart the same way. To know that all my acts big and small have been making a difference to my dear little people, even if they don't seem to notice on a daily basis. And even though I am an imperfect mother. (being on throw up duty this whole week as a fun bug has cascaded through the entire family has to fall into the "big" category for me) :)

Enjoy this beautiful video (I'm sure you've seen it!). It made me cry. And if you are one of those silent women out there, who wants to be a mother but hasn't been blessed with the opportunity, hang in there. God sees you.

Mothers Day is fast approaching, and un-true to form, I already have a gift for my mother!

Today we ran a few random errands, seeing as yesterday I was puking my guts out, and today I have a couple of sickies, but they seemed to be feeling better and were up for getting out of the house. The mountains have been a beautiful hazy gray with black snow pines and just enough shiny blue peeking out of neon green and white budded popcorn branches to make for a breathless day. And the smells-- it has been too long since we have been able to really smell the outdoors around here! Lightly floating blossom fragrance, the deep and drunk smell of after-rain, and the tart scent of grass and green things growing everywhere. We rolled down our windows off and on to enjoy the warm breeze and fresh air, as the air in our car does not smell good, not at all. We stopped to see my dad and sister at work, gave hugs and smiles and an "I love bampa!" as my little boy flick-sloshed his tongue in and out of his mouth, soon to explain to grandpa,"I'm a titty!" (kitty) Then it was time to re-buckle little ones who are a little trigger happy when it comes to those seatbelts. Enjoying my oldest daughter even though she is sick, sitting in the front seat laughing and conversing man to man (in the front just for today so we don't make her sicker).

On the way home, the baby fell asleep with his red cheeks and those adorable baby-chub arms draped on his lap and his little head slipping down on to his chest. The conversation drifted into a happy silence and I started thinking about the approach of mommy day and maybe sneaking in a post-sick day nap.

I thought about how commercialized these holidays have become. I saw a cute blog post yesterday of things the author thought would make good gifts for Mother's Day. No offense, no way, but one of the rings (so cute, by the way) she had posted was a whopping $400 and something dollars. Sorry, not so cute anymore. And it got me thinking about the kinds of gifts that don't cost any money, the ones that mothers will appreciate the most.

A few years ago, before we moved close(r) to my parents, my mother sent out a proud email with a Halloween photo of her then grandkids. She relayed back to me that one of her friends had told her my children looked "very well cared for." Now, I don't know if the compliment was deserved, and I can think of am millions points of refutation, but I have never forgotten it. This is one of those compliments that I have cherished; after all, what mother would not want to hear that her children seem well cared-for? It was very simple, nothing fancy, maybe nothing to get too puffed up over, but it made enough difference to me that I still pull it out when I'm having a bad day.

So, here is where I'm going with this, paragraphs on (sorry!). What if we, as our gift to other mothers, give them a kind compliment this week leading up to Mother's Day? I think about all of the qualities I admire in other mothers often but I often forget that I shouldn't keep them to myself! It is so easy to think they already know what they are good at, or to feel a little embarrassed or intimidated, but we can all use a little shoring up some days, right? I think this could make a big difference for all of us, as we all struggle with self doubt sometimes and forget to notice what we are doing that is good.

Even just a little unassuming compliment can go a long way, remembered by its recipient long after you've forgotten sending it.

Okay, on that thought, when I looked for the photos in question, I found some irresistible baby photos. Sorry, I can't help myself. Aw.