Despite my best intentions, I missed posting here on Mother’s Day - I was too busy scrambling around trying to get ready for a three-day work trip. 

But it was a beautiful and action-packed day - my house guest, J, made us a wonderful breakfast - omelette, homemade hash browns, and a Bloody Mary. I took Sami to his first swim class, and it is always such fun to help him propel his little body through the water as he learns the art of staying afloat. He is fond of jumping off the side, over and over, into my arms. Then we went out for lunch together, just mommy and Sami.

I napped while he did, as I really needed the rest. Then we headed off for a spectacular afternoon at the Malcolm X park drum circle. Sami ran around with newfound friends as the drummers pounded out stellar rhythms, and incense rose in the wind.

I look back on the day with fondness. I am so grateful to be a mother, and to have been mothered by a spectacular woman. This life is so full of wonder, which I get to experience through the eyes of my child. Every day, he stretches my heart open just a little wider, reminds me of just how much love it is possible to feel.

When I told him it was Mother’s Day, he said to me, “thank you.”

How kind and sweet, for a 3.5 year old to say.

No, thank you, Sami, for the honor of being your mother.

While I still miss my own mother terribly every Mother’s Day, since becoming a mother myself, the day is filled with far more joy than sorrow.