This Sunday, like every Sunday, the lightest tap of my five-year-old daughter, Katie, will awaken me.  She will announce, “Mama, I’m ready for my chocolate milk. Oh yeah, I have a card for you.”  Her brother Jacob won’t be far behind.  Since it’s Mother’s Day, my husband will be quick to jump up, fill the milk orders, then dash off to fetch me the biggest Cinnamon Dolce Latte, Starbucks has to offer.  All morning he will make sure I don’t lift a finger to cook or clean and there might even be a few little gifts to open.  Yes ladies, he’s a keeper.

I’m very lucky because I still have my Mama and my heart hurts for people who have to muddle through this day without theirs.  My mother will not ask to be taken to dinner or brunch and if we offered she might even say, “Why, don’t you like me?”  Mom is not a fan of big crowds.  So, with Spears Cheesecake and gifts in tow, my brother and I will gather up our children and visit her instead.  For my mom, it’s enough to have her children and grandchildren under the same roof at the same time.  We’ll spend the afternoon reminiscing about childhood stories, playing with the kiddos and simply enjoying our time together.  It’s time that becomes all too fleeting, the older we get.

I was recently asked, “What is your greatest Mother’s Day wish?”  I can’t answer that question because in May 2008, my greatest wish came true.  You see, in 2004 my daughter was born with a rare brain malformation, diagnosed after much mama tenacity.  For four years we lived in fear of it and even traveled to New York on four separate occasions to have it treated with a highly specialized and risky surgery called embolization.  In May 2008, one week before Mother’s Day, we were in New York preparing for another surgery when our doctor said the words we thought we might never hear, “you are done with me, Kaitlynn is cured.”

This Mother’s Day I will hug my children, be thankful for my husband and cherish the afternoon with my mother.  After everything God has blessed me with, how could I want for anything else?  Okay, well, except maybe for that new Lemon/Vanilla scented lotion from Bath and Body Works.

Happy Mother’s Day 2010