Like many holidays, how you spend Mother's Day is different depending on who you ask. There were so many beautiful photos of mothers flooding my Facebook & IG feeds yesterday. Mothers with their children. Grown adults with their mothers. Decades-old photos of that guy you used to work with as a baby with his mother...
It's a special day, no question about it, and I love that my girls were excited to give me their handmade cards & gift in the morning (that's a bowl, by the way). I love how Millie whispered "Happy Mother's Day, Mama!" after first asking for something to eat and to turn on the TV. Just precious.
Last year, we spent the day at Storm King... it was a gorgeous spring afternoon, & I'm pretty sure it's a Mother's Day I'll never forget. I even have a Sophie + Lili portrait of the girls that was made based on a photo taken amongst the sculptures. And if I feel even the slightest bit guilty after what I'm about to tell you, I'll look back on that perfect day...
This year, my Mother's Day was a little different. First, I sat listening to the silence in my apartment while I drank the coffee Husband went out and got me. I puttered around the house. I took a long shower, & I used all these magical bottles of stuff that I never seem to get around to trying because I'm constantly getting interrupted by little cherubs. Refining sugar cleanser! Hydrating body wash! Fortifying hair cream! It was lovely and my skin now feels as soft as the girls'.
Then, I went to the movies. I saw "Far From the Madding Crowd" with Carey Mulligan, based on the Thomas Hardy novel. Carey's character's name was Bathsheba, and she was so marvelous that she made me forgive her parents' awful name choice. The story was just the sort of British period love quadrangle that I adore but never get to see anymore. And there was a super hot shepherd, which didn't bother me at all. In the slightest. Not even a little bit. Oh, and I ate popcorn.
The truth is, I don't really feel guilty. The beauty of being a work-from-home mom is that I get to spend a lot of time with my children. It's also the hard part. Because at the end of a long day, I'm usually left thinking about all the whining and crying and often-times screaming (on my part), that transpired during the day. Thank goodness for the intermittent laughter and jokes and sweetly playing and sharing together, or I'd likely have to be committed.
We all struggle with finding that "me" time to recharge our batteries, but to me, there's no better time to do it than on Mother's Day. Because let's face it, all those brunches and picnics and perfect photos don't plan themselves. Which means Mama is working on a day that's supposed to be about her.
Me, I'd rather be at the movies. Because having a little break from my children actually makes me a better mother. I was so happy to see them when I got home yesterday and hear about their special day with Daddy.
And I suppose that's a little corny after all.
No comments:
Post a Comment