I am not the sleep-in kind of person, so in 16 Mother’s Days, I’ve never had a breakfast in bed. However, I’ve heard of lots that my friends have had, and I have to say, I don’t think I would want those breakfasts anyway. Mother’s Day has been a learning process around here. My first Mother’s Day, I had a beautiful 7-month-old. Good thing I had her because her daddy did not think he needed to get me anything. I’m not his mother, after all! Grrr. His mother does live nearby, so we spend our Mother’s Days with her and– back then– his sister, mom to two.
My second and third Mother’s Days must have been uneventful because I don’t remember being mad. My fourth Mother’s Day is one for the books. My sister-in-law and I went on strike and decided our husbands were taking us and Mom out to eat. At that time, I had an adorable 3-1/2-year-old and an almost 2-year-old. As I was fixing breakfast, my little one woke from her night in my bed (I know), came running out to meet me yelling “Happy Mudder’s Day,” slipped on the tile, and knocked out her two front teeth. Yes, you read that right. That is how we got to meet our beloved pediatric/adolescent dentist, who we use to this day. It’s also how I happened to go to Mother’s Day dinner at a nice restaurant in jeans, my husbands t-shirt, flip flops and blood stains. In the pictures, we all look a little shell shocked.
After that, every Mother’s Day was a good one. How could it be otherwise? The hardest was the one after my sister-in-law passed away. The best, last year. 2011 was my first year as mom to 5. All my life, I’d dreamed of having a large family. I’d given up on being a mom at all in my mid-30s and now look. Mom to five! It was almost unbelievable.
This year, we were blessed to celebrate with my mom. I’m not sure entirely how blessed she feels. We call ourselves “The Tischler Invasion.” It’s like bringing a small, war-torn country to your neat and tidy Switzerland. Anyway, she is in her late 70s, and I haven’t spent Mother’s Day with her in 27 years. We were able to get my siblings here too, except my dear London-based brother.
It was another great Mother’s Day, and I am, indeed, richly blessed. (Full disclosure — this is LAST year’s Mother’s Day picture. Technical difficulties)
Photo credit: Dreena T
