While some mothers were showered with goodies or prepared a very special breakfast or lunch, others may not have experienced the same kind of blessing. Some mothers lost little ones way too early or some women lost their mothers way too early. Some may not be able to be a mother at all.
As I sat today wondering what I would have done for my mother at the ages of my children, I felt like I would have done more things to show her I loved her on this special day than what I was receiving. It always ends up being another laundry, dishes, clean up the house kind of day. I had to wonder where I went wrong in training my children to be more honoring. As I was folding laundry load #2 with 2 more loads to complete, Diella came and asked me when I would be done. I told her how much I had to get done in the day and she simply said, "Well, let me know when you get a break". Then she came over and helped me finish folding laundry. I asked her why she wondered when I was taking a break. Her response was so she could massage my feet. I sat on the couch with my feet soaked in nice hot water and tears flowed down my face. She came right over and sat on the end of the couch holding me. When I seemed to be done tearing all over the place, she went to my feet and scrubbed them and then dried and massaged them. As I was sitting there with my eyes closed I felt a set of little lips come over and kiss me on the cheek. Only Benaiah does that. My thoughts of "where did I go wrong" soon were over taken with the abundant blessing of my daughter serving me in this way and my son kissing me on the cheek because he really does love me. Maybe I haven't gone so wrong. But where were my gifts and extra special treats?
I was able to catch a little nap right after my foot massage, which was much needed. Back to the laundry I went. I still needed to take a shower and go to the grocery store and it was almost supper time. My dad called to see if we wanted to go fishing. Yep, the rest of my family did, but I had jobs to get done. After planning on me going to town by myself while the rest went fishing, we realized that my vehicle was going to the lake, and I was going to be stuck. So, I canceled all grocery plans and went to the lake to meet up with my parents for some fishing.
Taking all the children on the boat to do fishing isn't the most relaxing thing for a mom to do. There are 5 children and fishing poles with hooks. That says enough right there. :) After a slight shower of rain, the evening turned out to be just lovely on the water. Fish were biting, and I can't even remember how many different kinds of fish were caught, but it was more than we've ever gotten before. Walleye, Perch, Blue Gill, Sun Fish, and Bass (a couple different kinds I think) were all part of the evening's catch and taken home to be cleaned up for a meal (my dad does all that part).
Alegra took her camera on the boat to take pics, so when we got home I asked her to load them all on the computer, so I could blog about our evening. As I went through her pictures of the day, I realized that I may not have been given material gifts, but her pictures captured more precious gifts than I could imagine getting all in one day.
Gifts of flowers, of children playing on the farm that we've been blessed to raise them on, of health, of parents/grandparents who spend time with us, of special memories in nature, of enjoying simple things like seeing so many different kinds of fish in one night, and of beauty surrounding me in ways that most don't see as long as I look a little deeper and aren't so selfish in thinking I deserve what the rest of the world gets on days like these. I would really rather have.....
a bouquet of dandelions...
sweet smiles on my littlest one's face...
a blue, cheesey smile.....
photos of dandelions that are crystal clear, taken by my child....
a happy girl who delights all of our hearts daily....
a mischievious boy who always keeps us on our toes....
creativity that doesn't come from sitting at a desk in school all day long....
my girly not wearing shoes where it isn't safe to not have them on..... (okay, the gift is, she didn't get hurt)....
places for them to play that challenge their imaginations.....
my children loving the outdoors in every season....
Onto the fishing adventure. We sure had a good time catching fish. Well, I never get a license, so I just watch, bait hooks, take pictures, and help people go potty on the bucket. :) Enjoy the photos, mostly taken by Alegra, except a couple that I took. Everybody caught something that was brought into the boat, except Alegra. She caught a huge bass, but it fell off the hook before they got it in the boat. Very sad. Enjoy the happy smiles on everyone else though. :)
Benaiah's first Walleye
Saphira's first catch.
Josiah's perch
Diella's perch
He caught a lot but saved the best for last.
Saphira didn't catch much, but she sure adds cuteness to the boat.
My dad caught a lot too, and enjoyed the fun of getting his picture taken with each one. I think Alegra got tired of taking his picture until he added his humor to it.
Diella's nice catch
Happy
All these fish are getting old...
Time to liven things up a bit! And he wonders why Benaiah "Daniel" is so silly. Hmmmm....
My mom caught some nice ones too.
Happy Mother's Day to you!
So, if your day wasn't all roses and homemade breakfast in bed, think about what it was, even the tiniest of details. Find the joy and beauty in the small things and be thankful for what you've been given in the moments of here and now with each person surrounding you. It might be a different perspective, and one that you need to make your day a delight.
May you have a blessed Mother's Day filled with laughter, smiles, and beautiful surrounding.
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