We ordered egg and bacon rolls and coffee for six – Andy and I and four of our grown-up kids – then took our food to the empty food court – the morning was early – where we tucked into our Mother’s Day breakfast.
Eggs dripped, fingers were licked and coffee sipped. After the last mouthfuls of roll had disappeared, we built a wobbly tower of empty boxes and added a cup and even a wrapper.
And I took loads of photos of everyone laughing, being silly, being us.
And then, on our way back to our cars, we rode the travellator, shooting off at the bottom in spectacular ways. A woman, witnessing our jumps and landings, arms out wide, knees up high, grinned as she walked by, sharing in the joy of the moment.
Later in the day, my girls dragged a big bag of wrapped gifts towards me, and I grinned and said, “I feel like it’s my birthday!” I tore the paper from all the parcels, revealing loads of things chosen with care: shower gel and body lotion, an excellent bottle of expensive wine, a silver coffee travel mug with a pink top, clothes, including a surprise green crocheted cardigan that Imogen finished the day before. Looking at my family’s grins, my lap filled with gifts, I felt very loved.
I also felt like an imposter. Surely only a brilliant mother would be worthy of all the love reflected in the attention and gifts I’d received? But then I remembered: love isn’t about perfection. Love is doing our best, trying again when we fail, and being willing to forgive.
I phoned my mother: “Happy Mother’s Day! I love you with all my heart.”
A heart full of joy.
Mother joy: that’s what I felt on Mother’s Day.
How about you? I hope you felt blessed too.
Happy Mother’s Day, Sue! What a wonderful day you had! I had a wonderful weekend celebrating year-end performances for most of our kids in ballet and piano. The kids acknowledged mistakes made at each, but also the incredible growth we all see in living a very well-rounded life. We learn, we grow, we love. And I took lots of photos and videos to help us reminisce in years to come!
Staci,
Happy Mother’s Day!
We learn, we grow, we love. Oh yes! There’s nothing better than doing that surrounded by the support and love of our families. So glad you had a wonderful weekend too!
It sounds like you had a very nice Mother’s Day, Sue! I’m glad! Do the four kids in the picture all live fairly close to you? I had a nice Mother’s Day, too!
Gina,
Happy Mother’s Day! We both had lovely days. Aren’t we blessed?
The girls in my photos live at home. My son lives in the same village as us, not very far away. I’m glad we have a few children who are still part of our day-to-day lives!
What a wonderful Mother’s day you had!!
Nancy,
I always feel very blessed and loved on Mother’s Day. We always have a great time celebrating this day.
It’s been fun responding to your recent comments. Thank you for reading my stories. I hope all is well with you. 🩵💛
Yes, I always enjoy my Mother’s day as well. We typically get a Chinese food feast and the children come over so it’s a lot of fun. I have been enjoying reading your blog it’s going to take me awhile to get through all of the ones I’ve not read yet. But I will do that over time. We’re doing pretty well. We only have just our youngest Nathan still at home. May be there for a very long time still we’re not sure. But please keep our oldest in prayer he is going through a terrible crisis in his life. Very likely going to lose his job, his wife wants a divorce, and he at least has temporarily lost the ability to see his children, our four grandchildren. All due to his wife , she’s put an order against him. He’s living with us for the time being and we’re helping him navigate through this really devastating time that he’s going through. So if you could lift him up in prayer his name is Wayde. We would be so grateful. As many people who are part of the body of Christ all over the world if they could lift up our son and his situation we would just absolutely appreciate that I’m almost speechless at the thought of what God could do in his life. He is a believer himself.
Nancy,
I was sorry to hear about the difficult time your son is having. I’ve been keeping him and your family in my prayers. Oh yes, God can do great things in Wayde’s life. We’ll pray and trust God will bring him through this crisis. May God bless you all. xxx
God bless you and your wonderful family Sue. You are a blessing in my life 💛