This is my second Mother’s Day as a mom and so far we seem to be developing a tradition I never would have guessed…
If you know both Matt and I, you’re probably aware of the fact that he’s the gardener in the relationship. Sure I like plants and enjoy eating them, but you won’t normally find me up to my elbows in dirt.
But when it comes to the grass on our front lawn, back yard and the various flower gardens outside, I actually care and take pride in how they look.
I know, it’s weird. It’s a new thing that’s been developing over the past couple of years and I’m still adjusting.
For the second Mother’s Day now, I’ve managed to spend a nice bit of the weekend outside cleaning up the flower beds, raking the lawns and even had time to put down lime on the grass. I don’t have any before and after pics, because I’m not convinced you see that much of a difference (but I know there has been and that’s enough for me).
Last year I wrote a lovely blog post about my mom, how important family is and how amazing and overwhelming it was to be a new mom.
Not much has changed since then. I’m still as close as ever with my mom. I’ve enjoyed bonding more with my mother-in-law as we chat about mommy stuff and she shares stories about Matt and his sister. I’ve also tried to spend more time with my grandparents when possible (and I’d like to do it more).
Some good things have happened too. A year ago, I was still dealing with the mommy guilt of not being able to breastfeed (which I am SO OVER now). And there were other things going on in my internal monologue that was eating away at me.
I like to think a lot has changed in both of those areas. I try to maintain the fairly relaxed approach to certain things with Missy Moo (not constantly worrying about what she’s eating… if she’s getting enough sleep… or other things that us moms managed to think about to cause distress). Mommy guilt is brutal with a capital B. It sucks and it’s so easy to fall for it, especially when you see other people being critical of someone else. “Are they saying that about me when I’m not around.” Yeah, um. I don’t care. But more about that tomorrow…
It was a nice and low key Mother’s Day that had us go to my parents’ house for surf n turf where my grandparents and my Aunt Janice and Uncle Craig were also there. It was a fabulous meal (my dad always cooks THE BEST lobster).
Before we left, we tried to take a few photos. There were mixed results, but as I said earlier, why get stressed about the little things? At least we were all there, healthy and happy.
Four generations – Nana, Nanny Sturge, Missy Moo, and Mommy
Nana, Missy Moo, and Mommy
So happy Mother’s Day and I hope everyone has a lovely second Monday in May and that the next day is also stellar. Because really, we shouldn’t need just one day to celebrate a parent.