Mother's Day

I won't pretend that Mother's Day is one of my better holidays. When your own mom died before your kids were born, it's always going to be a day that hurts. But as the years go on I do find that more and more, I think of myself more as the mother. And my family is pretty terrific. And they love me, so I would like to let them show their appreciation.

The weather this weekend has been pretty inspiring -- some of the first really deliciously warm days we have had this spring. On Saturday we went to Golden Gardens (with what seemed like half the rest of Seattle, including a number of people we know) and had a picnic dinner. The boys are crazy about sand and had a great time burying each other.

Then they dug a big hole and buried Jordan vertically knee-deep, so that he was the same height as Aaron. Pretty funny.

Even funnier when it was Aaron's turn in the hole.

On Sunday, we had a luxurious breakfast and Aaron presented me with Mother's Day gifts he had made at school: a beautiful card with a picture of me, and a decoupaged vase.

I think I look a little worried, and I'm amused that he thinks of my hair as being that long; but I love the picture. The card says, "I like the yummy pizza that mommy makes. Aaron." (For Jordan, we will extend Mother's Day to tomorrow afternoon, so that he can give me what he made at school and left in his locker.)

In the afternoon, Dale led the boys in an extraordinary activity, which was to thoroughly clean both cars. Here they are digging out lord knows what from under the seats. 

And here is Aaron playing fireman to help wash the outside.

Okay, Dale did most of the work, but he gave the boys the pleasure of contributing. And wow, what a great gift! They were pulling stuff out of there that has been there for years. Like Cheerios. We're in a whole different phase of life now, one that does not involve Cheerios in the back seat. I am not entirely thrilled about how old I seem to be lately, but I do welcome the end of the Age of Cheerios. There is more opportunity for self-respect when your youngest is almost five.

Before heading over to Sue's for a family dinner, the boys made cards for other mothers. Aaron made this for Grandma: 

And Jordan constructed this creative masterpiece for Aunt Kari, whose birthday was a few days ago. 

The rock-and-roll Jordan and Kari characters are pretty excellent, but my favorite is the picture of Aunt Kari holding hands with a piece of candy. Kari was charmed too. 

Thanks to my family for making it a day with more love than anything else. And the sunshine was terrific.