Pokey woke me up early to share her homemade storybook she made at school. She was so proud of it. She had drawn a picture of me taking pictures on the first page. Hmm...
There would be no other gifts this year, as we recently had to replace our dying computer. Understood.
All I really wanted for Mother’s Day (besides maybe a nap) was my husband to take some photos of my children and me frolicking in a field of flowers. Unfortunately there were no fields of flowers to frolic in. We found a freshly planted field of corn and a field of weeds. (possibly ragweeds?) That would have to do.
My husband had to leave for work in the late afternoon.
I had to concoct something edible for dinner.
It was just an ordinary day.
I did a couple loads of laundry. And I tidied the kitchen.
As I was wiping down the counter I found an envelope with my name on it.
I opened it to find a note from my husband. It read,
“Alicia, Don’t sell yourself short. You are a good mother to your children, an irreplaceable portion of their lives. You do more for them than they understand but someday they will get it. Your hard work will pay off. Love, Haldan.”
Tears streamed down my face as I read those sweet words. Then I found some money tucked away and it read, “Use this money for something you’ve been wanting to do.”
But it doesn’t end there. My son saved the best for last. He handed me his card. Inside was a coupon for 25 free pictures. He said, “Dad told me to think of something heartfelt. I wanted to get you hand sanitizer but I thought you’d like this more.” He went on to explain that he would even smile for the photos. If you knew how much he detests getting his photo taken, you would have melted too.
It was a sweet ending to my ordinary day.
Ladies, I guess it pays to keep your expectations low.
If you don’t have TOO high of expectations, then you are pleasantly surprised with just about anything, my new motto for life.