Growing up, I never minded when my birthday fell on Mother's day. I always felt like my birthday was a celebration for my mother too. But, now that I am a mom, no freaking way do I want to combo the only two days out of the year I get to sleep-in and have breakfast in bed!
Another strange realization I had when I became a mother, was that what I want for Mother's Day is vastly different than what I expected. I want to relax, put my feet up, maybe do a little shopping, take a nap, eat a cupcake, take a quiet stroll through the neighborhood... you know, anything but spend my day hip-to-hip with my child. That's right, I said it, for Mother's day I want to spend the majority of the day alone. Who knew? I was sure Mother's Day was all about spending every waking minute with my mom!
Dear Mom, I totally get it now... sorry I insisted on coming with you shopping, going for that walk and demanding half your cupcake... whoops. Love, April
For me, a stay-at-home-mom, 365 days out of the year I am hip-to-hip with my child, so when someone says to me, "It's your day! What do you want to do?" Of course I am going to think of things, *I* want to do! I want to sleep, read a good book, shop without chasing a toddler, go for a walk where I don't have to stop every two feet to watch my child pick up or poke something with a stick, I want to eat a cupcake... I want to just enjoy the day on my terms, not a toddlers.
Of course it never plays out like that, and truthfully it shouldn't. Mother's Day is as much for my son and husband, as it is for me. It's a day to let me family show their appreciation for me. It's a day to let them shower me with the Best Mother's Day gifts they can find. It's a day to spend together as a family having fun, because after all, with out them I would not be a mother!
And so, in a couple of weeks, when FTD and Ollie bust into my bedroom carrying my ceremonial Mother's Day breakfast in bed, I will graciously accept it and then ask, "So, What do you two have planned for us today?!"
