This past Sunday, restaurants were packed, Walgreens was sold out of the adorable little Hallmark blooming flowers, and people everywhere were scrambling to get the last meaningful card off the shelves. Yes, it was Mother’s Day.
The day we celebrate (or not) one of the most influential relationships any of us ever have. Whether your mom is your best friend or you haven’t spoken to her in years, she shaped your life. Whether she lives in a retirement community in Florida or an Alzheimer’s unit down the street, she has a place your heart. Whether your childhood looked more like Mommie Dearest or Leave it to Beaver, your mom was likely the very first person you loved, and that relationship set guidelines for relationships to come.
Sunday, I was lavished with letters and gifts from my three children. My husband and I took our own moms out to lunch. And I saw mothers everywhere enjoying time with their families and friends. It reinforced just how important of a job being a mom is. So, while I read the card my six-year-old made at church, I thought about some ways I could do better as a mom:
Listen more; talk less.
Hug more; yell less.
Play more; clean less.
Compliment more; criticize less.
Fish more; mow less.
Laugh more; cry less.
Travel more; work less.
Find more positives and fewer negatives.
Pick more flowers and fewer weeds.
My oldest child left our little nest last year. She went to college, and now she has decided to stay there and work through the summer. I miss her, but she is making her own life, and that is what we raised her to do. But it also made me realize that in the blink of an eye my younger two children will be making lives too, so I have a short time to pour a lot of love into them.
How do you pour love into your kids?
no more bellyaching 