When my daughters were small, I started a file of stories of the sweet and funny things they said and did because I didn't want to be one of those moms who can't remember her tots once they're all grown up. And my girls are grown up now -- the youngest is twelve... so my little "Growing Up With My Girls" story file is one of my dearest treasures. I try to remember to add to it regularly, but see that it's been about six months since I've written a word there. Not that it needs a lot more words... it's already reached almost 165,000.
May 6, 1999
Christina and Suzanna both
won a coloring contest at the Bay on the weekend. I suspect they were the
only two entrants. So, today we are going to go pick up the prizes
-sidewalk chalk for Suzanna and a bubble maker for Christina. We also
have $19.40 in Canadian Tire money, and the girls want to spend it on stuff
they can use to "help" me in the garden. It looks as if it will
be a fine day, and I should get out there and dig the grass clumps out of the
garden patches. Our sidewalks will be covered with chalk by the end of
the day, any bets?
Lee took the girls shopping
for my mother's day gift last night. When I asked Suzanna about her prize
for the coloring contest this morning, she said, Oh, Mommy's necklace in the
bottom of our dresser. Never trust a two-year-old with a secret.
I'm pretending I don't know anything!
May 14, 1999
Overheard as my children
played Doctor:
Patient Suzanna: Help
me, Doctor!
Doctor Christina:
What happened?
Patient Suzanna: I
bonked myself on the sidewalk.
Doctor Christina:
Ooooo whoooo, I'm sure glad I'm not you!
Here's a bandaid.
Patient Suzanna:
Thank you, Doctor.
Doctor Christina: Do
you feel better now?
Patient Suzanna: Not
really.
This has been my week to
see doctors -- driver's medical, etc., and even my children get in on the
act. I'm glad my doctors don't have Christina's bedside manner...
May 14, 2000
Two-month-old Julia gave me
a mother's day gift last night. I was just holding her in one arm, doing
something, and she fell asleep, and in her sleep, she laughed!
Twice! I've never heard her laugh while awake yet -- what in her dreams
could be so funny? It's a mystery...
The Poisonwood Bible has so
much in it, but here’s a small taste of something that really struck me.
The speaker is talking about how a mother loves her lastborn child:
"But the last one: the baby who trails her scent like a flag of surrender
through your life when there will be no more coming after -- oh, that's love by
a different name. She is the babe you hold in your arms for an hour after
she's gone to sleep. If you put her down in the crib, she might wake up
changed and fly away. So instead you rock by the window, drinking light
from her skin, breathing her exhaled dreams. Your heart bays to the
double crescent moons of closed lashes on her cheeks. She's the one you
can't put down."
The only thing is that I
felt that way about each one of my girls, but with Julia, I guess it's a little
more poignant or something. I took a nap with her sleeping on my chest
this afternoon, thinking how it won't be long and I'll be missing moments like
that.
May 7, 2002
Suzanna is getting excited
about Mother's Day, and has no idea how to keep secrets. The kindergarten
class will be having a Mother's Day tea on Friday, and she's often singing
her mother's day song, then clapping her hand over her
mouth and announcing, Oops, I'm not supposed to sing that! Julia recently
discovered the fun of pouring water out of the bathtub. I hope I've cured her
of that!
May 10, 2002
The girls are getting
excited for their dad to come home from Poland. Julia often asks, “Daddy
sleeping now?” or “Daddy eating supper now,” as if she understands time zones,
mostly because she hears me give the other two those sorts of updates whenever
they ask.
Today was the kindergarten
Mother’s Day tea. Suzanna was so sweet, and so excited to do something
special for me. I love being a mom to my girls. My eyes kept
filling this afternoon when she was singing her little songs or giving me her
present and a cute card. We can fight with each other and drive each
other up walls, but we do love each other most of the time!
Julia was singing O Canada
yesterday in the car, all by herself, “O Canada, gaa-aa-aarde fow dee!” over
and over again. Then she launched into “we will, we will wock you,
tschhh!” I almost laughed out loud!
Christina is loving having her own bedroom.
We were worried that she would hate to be alone in a room, but she’s adjusted
so well, and falls asleep so quickly. She also loves being in a bed where
we can sit on the edge and talk with her for a few minutes at the end of the
day. I love that, too. Precious time.
May 12, 2006
Today I went to a lovely
Kindergarten Mother's Day Strawberry tea -- Julia singing songs for me and getting
me a piece of strawberry short cake and giving me her present (a picture she
made). Lovely to have some special Mom and daughter time. Not so teary at
this tea as I was with the other two. Maybe I'm ready for all my kids to grow
up where when Christina and Suzanna were that age, I wasn't. More likely it's
that I'm still struggling with vertigo.
May 11, 2009
This was the busiest Mother's Day weekend yet, but
it was all good. The girls all had places to go on Saturday that had me driving all over
the place. Confirmation retreat for Suzanna, swimming lessons for Christina,
birthday party Julia was to attend, and movie and dinner for Suzanna with a
friend. Had Mother’s Day supper at
L & J’s, but had to cut it a bit short because Lee and I had tickets to see
Joanna Macy. When we got home at nine thirty, I found a lovely letter from
Christina on my pillow, the best Mother’s Day gift of all. Suzanna has promised
me some new art for my wall, and Julia gave me two plants, a spider plant and a
nasturtium she planted at the birthday party. Sweet children!
Mother's Day weekend 2012
Christina drove us four girls to a
green house, and we bought some plants for the garden together. It was lovely
to have an afternoon with my young ladies even as I remember the little girls
they once were. And last evening, we saw a play in which our eldest played a
cranky grandmother quite well. This morning, I had coffee and toast under the
pear tree, and this afternoon we'll see the play again. What can I say?
Motherhood is the best occupation/vocation ever!!
To all you Moms (and especially my Moms) out there, Happy Mother's Day!
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