Mother's Day is always a little bittersweet for me - and just downright heartbreaking for a lot of people I know and have come to know over the years as we have shared our own story. This time last year, we had recently lost Camille. Mother's Day is certainly a great day to celebrate our own mothers and a day for those of us who are fortunate enough to have children to allow them to celebrate us, but for lots of women it is a gut-wrenching reminder of everything they long to have. I guess all I am trying to say is this - those of us who are mothers are enormously blessed. Those late-night feedings, the diaper blowouts, the hormones and pains of pregnancy - these are all things that so many women would give just about anything to experience. As we celebrate our own mothers and ourselves, just remember not to take anything for granted.
Here is my mother's day gift from precious Josephine. They worked on these all week at school and she absolutely couldn't wait to give it to me on Friday! In her words, "Mommy, I made you a special Mother's Day surprise. It's a big surprise and I can't tell you what it is...it is a hand-tree...a tree made out of my hand and I made it just for you! We can hang it in your bedroom, actually we should put it in my bedroom...Here open it, it is a BIG surprise!"
Happy Mother's Day to all the mamas out there - my mom, the women I am lucky enough to share motherhood with who influence and inspire me as a mother so much, all the women out there who have lost babies and children, and all the women out there with aching hearts longing to be mothers.