to be a mother

crocheted white lace placemat.

aqua glass of white-bell'd lily-of-the-valley.

smiles.

homemade cards.

"'oooh' over MINE, Mommy!"

eggs they made, and toast, and coffee.

the gift of 'go.'

a parking-lot pause, to breathe.

sun-filled car & friend.

drumbeats, goatskin under palms.

mushroom and goat cheese and spinach between bread.

downpour.

coffee again, and calories just because.

fingering all that beauty - beads & cloth & stone & wood.

talking lost & found, conflict & surrender.

home.

quiet.

breathe in.

hugs.

gingerbread pig dough and supper soup to make, and letting them stir.

bed made up with fresh sheets, by daughters.

ducks outside (mostly) where they belong.

piano music to Spanish crooning.

contentment.

I am a mother.  Somehow, they love me, those little people whose lives depend on mine for so much.  Somehow they forgive my faults, and - oh God! - forget them, besides.  They say I'm fun, and cheerful, and pretty and they truly see that in me.  These are gifts I never deserved, never thought to ask for.  

I've learned about God's love by watching Him form it in me for those little ones, growing so fast into what He made them to be.  What I didn't know was that He's also teaching me about His love .... by loving me through them.

and to top it all off, a rainbow after supper, interrupting dishes and baths-to-be.

Happy Mothers' Day 

to all of you who mother.