This Sunday is Mother’s Day. I’m fortunate to have my mother and mother in law here to celebrate with. Tommy offered to have dinner for us all, none of us have to cook; a great idea from my very loving and thoughtful husband.
On Sunday my church is having photographers come in and mothers can sit for a photo for free. I think that is such a great idea. I did it last year but with only 2 of my kids present, Thomas and Samantha. This year I doubt Thomas will be at church so maybe I’ll have 3 of them there for a photo. It’s funny when I imagined Thomas living here I had this sweet vision of us attending church together. Turns out that was a nice thought, but not the most enjoyable way to spend Sunday morning. While attending church Thomas became increasingly high maintenance week after week and I left there feeling not great. Thomas knows about Jesus and that The Lord loves him so him not attending church is not the end of the world. It’s funny because most of the scenarios I had pictured that involved Thomas and us being together more often never quite turned out the way I had hoped they would. And that’s ok. It is what it is. Thomas is Thomas and we’re still his family. Sometimes expectations don’t live up to reality. Lesson learned.
So getting back to Mother’s Day…I am extremely grateful to be able to have my mother and mother in law together to spend time with. My mother like all mothers taught me so much; so much that it’s difficult to name it all. One thing in particular she taught me was to advocate for Thomas when he was a baby. He had so much going on before he was even a year old. We had no idea what the future held. My mother always said,”There’s only one Thomas…” So I always remembered that when dealing with doctors or therapists who were cold or not helpful.
My mother in law taught me how to cook quite a few meals including how to make meatballs. That alone is invaluable in an Italian family. She also taught me to wear “good” shoes. I always think about that when I’m tempted to purchase poor quality shoes. That I’ll pay for it later and you know what, she is right.
Im looking forward to Mother’s Day and hanging out with the two of the most influential women in my life.
Menay O; mom to 4, Christian and thrift shopper on the side... 