Motherhood

 My Mom and Me

I know having a puppy is not the same as being a mother, but every once and a while I get glimpse into motherhood in my relationship with my dog Angie.  These small glimpses humble me because of my own mother's unconditional love for me.

1.  Angie puts her head on my chest when she gets in our bed at night.  When my four pawed baby does this, it reminds me of how when I was very young, even after my twin brother and sister were born, my mom would snuggle in bed with me until I fell asleep every night.  Sometimes when she would sneak out of the room, I would hear her and wake up.  She would get back in bed until I fell back to sleep.  A mother's love comforts.

2. If Angie needs to go outside, eat, go for a walk or anything else,  she sits at my feet to let me know.  I think about all the times my mom has provided for me even through the sacrifice of her own needs.  She would take me shopping when I needed a new dress for a party even though shopping is not her favorite, and she would stay up late helping me with homework until I really "got" the math problem. When I had a huge project due for my interior design degree one summer, she came and stayed with me to make sure I had food to eat and help me finish up the project.  (Don't be fooled into thinking they just hand out interior design degrees; it was alot of work!)  Finally, when I was in high school she went without a car so I could drive her car to and from school with my brother and sister.  My mother has sacrificed to provide for me and my siblings in more ways than I will ever know.

3.  Finally, Angie is an adventurer.  She knows so many ways to get out of the backyard.  I would see her out the front window and take off after her, and she would only run further down the street.  Britton convinced me that she only runs further because she can still see me following her, and if I didn't follow her she would come back home.  Well, he was right.  And, yesterday at Britton's parents' she would run off, and when she realized we weren't chasing her, she would come back to where we were in the backyard.  At one point she followed the boat we were in down the shoreline and then tried to get in the boat to be with us. Letting Angie go when she runs off is one of the hardest things for me to do.  I want to chase her; I want to make sure she doesn't run into the wrong dog and get hurt. But seeing her swim across the lake to be near me was worth the letting go.  My mom is always one to let us make our own decisions.  Maybe she trusts that she had raised us well, but more importantly she trusts God and that He has a plan for our lives.  So now as we have all graduated  college and pursue our dreams, leaving our parents "empty nesters", we enjoy coming home for days like mothers' day, because not only do we want to be with her, but we want to be like her.

Part of my mom's veil was sewn in my wedding dress.

What made me think about this today?  While visiting my friend Audra and her new baby boy last week she said that she commented to her mom that her mom could not understand how much she loved her baby boy. Audra's mom said, "Yes, I do; that is how much I love you!".
Mom,  thank you for all the ways you love me!

My mother-in-law, me, and my mom

Happy Mother's Day to my mom, my mother-in-law, my wonderful aunts, grandmother, and all the other mothers who have shaped my life and continue to inspire me daily!