Just Keep Swimming

My Mother's Day gifts included a Butterfinger, several lovely drawings of elephants (my favorite), a leopard-print LED flashlight and more. What a nice day!

I finished last week out with a bit of a thud at work. It seeped into home, turned everything a puke green. I had to change my mind to pull off a great weekend.

On Friday, I ate breakfast at McDonald's, lunch at Subway and dinner was Jukebox. Since then, I've also had Wendy's and Las Trancas. Let's just say I started my own personal Mother's Day early and did it right. I "yardsaled" with my sis and mom, took a nice, long family walk after the rain yesterday and spent today at church, picking out a new canopy swing and playing at Lake Tweet with my family.

I am so thankful today to be a mother. I am so blessed to have four heathy, wonderful kids. Although I often feel like a veteran mom, I know I've got so far to go. I'm at the stage where I have to just keep swimming, all the time, every day to make it all work. I have to be selfless, flexible, quick-thinking, organized, patient, funny, protective, efficient and creative, just to name a few things. And I wouldn't change it for the world.

Shrek is taking the two older kids somewhere next weekend. I miss them already. There is such simple joy and a sense of peace in having all of your chicks in the nest, as safe and sound as they would be anywhere.

To all of you mothers who know exactly what I mean, happy Mother's Day! My hope for all of us is that we find the joy in every day, that we know the magnitude of our blessings, and that we see our status as mothers rise throughout the rest of our lives. On those days when you feel like an underpaid and undervalued maid, chauffeur, cook or worse... just keep swimming. You'll get there, and it will be fabulous.

Oh, and happy Mother's Day to my beautiful angel mother. You are the wind beneath my wings....