What I wanted for Mother's Day

Continually reconstructing! Is reconstruction ever done? I just don't think so....maybe we will eventually get done with our house, but I am pretty sure that life is a series of reconstructions.

My hubbie asked me what I wanted for Mother's Day. At first I told him I wanted a new watch but as the week wore away, I knew I needed and wanted this place cleaned up and organized. I am tired, no not tired, exhausted by all the chaos. So....we worked and worked and worked cleaning up. This weekend, we got our sheds cleaned out and redone. Not only did we get up all the wet stuff, we organized, and got miscellaneous paint, tools, and stuff out of the house and put away in the shed. We cleaned out the overhang (trash guys are not going to like us today!) and moved Jon's motorcycle so we could use our parking space. We even got a few plants in the ground! Yay!!!!

I heard from all my kids, Robert (middle son) called-it was sure good to talk to him, Gabrielle (my daughter-in-law), Daniel (oldest son), and some other friends sent texts to wish me happy mother's day. I got to be of service to a dear friend, had some sweet moments with my hubbie, went to breakfast, caught a movie, went to church, popped in to Ihop (second round this weekend), and finished my weekend out visiting with my brother. It was a good weekend, a great mother's day.

The most valuable gifts aren't things at all, but time, the giving of oneself for someone else...and this Mother's Day that is what I got from my husband, his time and him-his willingness to do what I needed to give me some peace of mind. I love him! Jon had flowers for me when I got to church, and he and my daughter gave me a sweet card (and a new purse :) I have to share what they wrote on the cards (and hope they don't mind):

"You are the best mom any girl could ask for. I know this is my last Mother's Day at home and I wanted to let you know a few things. I love you very much, and you are one of my best friends (even though you are my mom.) You have given me a wonderful example of what a wife and mother should be. I can only hope to be half the mom and wife you are. I love you with all my heart mom. I hope you enjoy your day. PS. Don't ever think that you have been a bad mom., that is a lie. Love you, Katherine."

"It's crazy how it's coming on 2 years since I met you. I'm thankful God has blessed me so much, and a big part of that blessing is you and your beautiful family. Whether Katies wants to admit it or not, she is like you in so many ways, and I have you to thank for that. Thank you for raising the daughter that I have prayed about for so many years. Thank you for helping me to be a better Christian, and because of that, a better man. I hope that if I have kids one day that I can be the person that you were to your kids. I hope this day, and the years to come, are full of God's love and blessings. Happy Mother's Day. I love you. Jon"

Wow-thanks Guys. It is moments like those which remind me that everything mattered (especially since there are so many negative moments when life feels futile)! It has been a hard year, a life changing year...lesson after lesson in letting go of those things I have no control of and trusting God to be God especially in the lives of my children. Sunday morning I printed and gathered pictures of my three kids and their spouses to put into a frame (a torche/clock actually) which sits in my den/breakfast room. They will be ever before me to remind me to pray for them, to let them live their lives for better or worse, to trust God's unfailing love and promises, and to learn to live my life with my husband-a part from them. I have been a wife longer than I have been a mother, but both have consumed my adulthood. I am still a mother, but less of. This next year, my goal is going to be to keep changing gears, adjusting my thought life, refocusing on us as a couple, allowing God to reconstruct from the inside out such that my life is in the proper perspective: 1) God 2) husband...and everything else....will have to take a number.