Grumpy mother

I do a pretty good line in self pity when I'm feeling a bit off colour.  Once upon a time I didn't know how to sit and take it easy, no matter how I was feeling.  I took the "push through it" approach, ignore it and it will go away, give in to it and you will feel worse.  These days I just give in to it and don't think I feel any worse for it.  

Nothing much wrong, just a cold.  And during the time I wasn't plopped on the couch with my head in a book I've been thinking about Mothers Day.  My attitude to that has changed over the years, too.  I used to believe it was a load of old rubbish, commercialism at its worst.  I still think the commercialism stinks.

Why should anyone feel obliged to spoil their mother one day a year?  I never expected my children to transform themselves into angels one day a year.  Mothers do their mothering job and I for one never saw a need to be thanked for it.  

Once I began my own mothering I felt the need to celebrate my mother's efforts in the mothering department.  But she did it a dozen times over (yes, she had twelve children) and that really does deserve some recognition.   But me, I hadn't done anything I didn't want to do.  I had my four beautiful children because I wanted them, so why should they feel obliged to me? 

The gifts that meant the most were always those little things that only a child could see as a precious. 

My Mothers Day parcel today was precious.  The card was so obviously chosen by a son, the words he wrote inside were honest and sincere.  In buying my present the help he received from Georgia was evident.  A childrens' cook book, a macaron making kit, a tiny box of four pretty chocolates and a book. I've never made macarons in my life but looks like that is about to change.  I'm pretty sure Georgia thought that set was a cake icing set (and no doubt we will adapt it to be just that), and my son wouldn't have known the difference.   But I'm thankful that he knows whatever makes Georgia happy will make me happy.

In the top left hand corner is 15 month old Aiden's art work.  

On Friday Georgia created her gift for her mother.  The discussion on what to make had gone on for days.  She finally fished out a packed of macadamia nuts I had in the pantry, laid 5 in the bottom of each cup cake case and got me to melt chocolate to pour over the top.  She decorated the bottom of an old chocolate box.  A pretty and delicious gift, made with love.