Mother's Day

Dear Mom,

(Sorry this post is late.)  There is no way I could ever put into words the gratitude I have for all you have done for me for the last 30 years.  (I am including pregnancy in this number, so even though I'm not 30, I know pregnancy counts.)  So instead, I'm just going to tackle ages birth-3, since that's what I'm dealing with right now.

1. Thank you for being pregnant with me. Your pregnancies were not the pieces-of-cake mine were in terms of how you felt.  Thanks for vomiting, not sleeping, eating raw potatoes, and bed-rest.
2. Thank you for giving birth to me. While my C-sections were easy, yours were rough.  Thanks for not risking danger to me by giving vaginal birth in my breech state.
3. Thank you for taking such good care of me, even with all your post-partum depression issues. Taking care of my children is sometimes enough in itself to make me depressed.  Thanks for pushing through.
4. Thanks for waking up in the middle of the night with me and not throwing me against the wall.  I know that when I was completely dead on my feet and had to get up with my babies, there were moments when I was so frustrated that I almost wanted to throw that kid against the wall to get him to SHUT UP!  But I didn't, and neither did you.  Thanks for rocking me back to sleep.
5. Thank you for changing my dirty diapers.  They are disgusting, and the older the kid gets, the grosser they become.  Thanks for taking care of that.
6. Thank you for disciplining me.  This one is huge.  I had no idea how much energy, work, and staying power it takes to discipline a child and to be consistent about it.  I like to think that my child is much more strong-willed than yours was, but somehow I think that's not true.  Thanks for sticking to your guns and not letting me have my way (ever).
7. Thank you for working while I was small.  I know you felt guilt about this - I do, and I'm sure every mom does in some measure.  But I am grateful for the work you knew you had to do for our family.
8. Thank you for putting me in daycare and preschool.  I am so glad I had social interactions with other children, even at that age.  I admire moms who stay home with their kids, but I want my child to learn at a young age how to get along with others.  He will have to do it his entire life and the earlier he starts the better.  Thanks for doing this for me.
9. Thank you for teaching me scripture.  Research supports the idea that things that go into the minds of young children can stick their entire lives.  Thank you for making sure that what went into my mind was something living and enduring.
10. Thank you for loving me.  I know I must have been hard to love at times, but thank you for giving me such a secure, loving environment in which to grow up.

There are more, but I have to stop and go to work.  I love you dearly, Mom, and am so thankful that my children get to see you so often.  You are such a help and support to us and there is nothing we could ever do to pay it back.

Oh, and happy birthday!