Gratitude on Mother’s Day

My husband and I aren’t big on exchanging gifts of tangible things, so Mother’s Day at our house has historically been about gifting time and attention. It’s a day where we typically do what I feel like doing. As such, I probably could have lounged in bed this morning reading, while my dear husband cleaned up and braced himself for a trip to the nursery to go flower shopping, which is something that he doesn’t enjoy, but will do without complaining on this special day. 

Instead, surprisingly what I found myself most wanting to do at 5:30AM this morning when I was awakened by the chirping birds outside my window, was express gratitude. As many of you who have been readers for a while know, the expression of gratitude is core to my being. If I’m having a bad day, it helps me turn things around and if I’m having a great day it can buoy me up even more. So, instead of sleeping in, I found myself at my desk composing a gratitude list as the sun rose and having fun finding pictures to accompany it.  I hope you appreciate it and it encourages you to consider what you’re grateful for this morning.

This Mother’s Day morning I’m grateful for:

• The opportunity to share this day with both my mother and my mother-in-law, two very special women and fantastic moms who I love very much
• The memory of my grandmother who was one of the most influential women in my life and who I think about fondly each day as I use a spoon that belonged to her or place something in one of the wooden boxes she had that are now mine

  

• A two-day visit from my son and being able to spend this morning helping him get ready to head back to college for summer semester
• The promise of seeing my other son who will soon be home from college to spend the summer with us
• My husband, a wonderfully patient man I adore, who puts up with a lot in our crazy household
• A loving and caring sister who is the best mother I know and who even though her children are much younger, serves as a mothering role model for me
• Amazing clients and readers, many of whom are mothering children, aging parents and/or relatives, and all of whom who are working to better themselves and their situations
• Caring friends, who like my sister, serve as mother role models and over the years have provided a listening ear, a shoulder to cry on when mothering was most challenging AND who have also been there to celebrate the mothering “wins” with
• Most importantly, the blessing of being mother to two amazing young men who are finding their way in the world and who I am incredibly proud of

What are you most grateful for this Mother’s Day?  I’d love to hear.

Happy Mother’s Day!