A New Kind of Mother's Day

This is the first Mother's day in 9 years that I haven't woken up with my son in the house. This was his weekend with his dad... just another sucky part of getting a divorce. I will see him but in the afternoon. So instead of breakfast in bed, I was woken up by well meaning friends' "Happy Mother's Day" texts. I had received four before I finally managed to pull myself out from under the covers at 10:15.

As I thought about Mother's Day this week, I got a little forlorn because Foster is still young enough that he doesn't really get that Mother's Day is all about the Mommy. And he shouldn't have to get it yet, because usually kids at that age have their Daddies make all the decisions. But without a Daddy in the house, Mommy has had to plan her day. And Foster balked at the idea of a picnic at the park. He balked at the museum. He balked at quite a few other things too and I just didn't have the heart to throw down the Mommy Card so we are seeing a baseball game. I am not a baseball fan. I only tolerate it because my son plays it and I'd happily watch my son throw rocks in a pond if that's what he wanted to do for sport. But a baseball game, really? On Mother's Day?

Yes, I believe so. Because ultimately what any good mother wants is for her child to be happy. And if he's mopey, she's mopey. If he's put out, she's put out. So this Mother's Day I made a choice to do what the kid wanted to do because I figured the best gift I could give myself was to see my son happy.

And as for breakfast in bed... well I got up and made myself waffles and put them on the fancy-but-now-ironic wedding china and crawled in bed to eat them. Happy Mother's Day to me!