Happy Mother's Day!

After a quiet week where most of the family (me, Andrew, Evelyn) were recuperating from colds, we had a busy weekend. Dan bravely took Andrew on the Father-Son campout. Apparently Andrew had a blast, running around with a couple of other little boys his age, going to bed late, and then waking up at the crack of dawn. Dan, on the other hand, didn't love it quite so much. (He didn't sleep well and his aging body didn't appreciate the hard ground. Andrew, in contrast, slept on a pinecone and didn't notice.

One of the few things I did accomplish during the week (mostly at Andrew's prodding) was putting in some borders around the flower patches in the front yard. Here's a before and after shot of the yard.

Yesterday we spent running a bunch of errands in preparation for a trip north. Dan worked on sprinklers, the swamp cooler, and mowed the lawn; I tried to clean in between bouts of baking (we made two separate desserts for an Elder's quorum barbeque that evening, plus a batch of cupcakes to deliver to home and visiting teachees . . .) and laundry. Needless to say, Dan and I were both grateful for bedtime when it finally came.

And today, of course, is mother's day. I've been thinking a lot about mothering lately, not just because that's what I spend most of my life doing. My sister-in-law is the brainchild behind a collection of essays on mothering that she'd like to publish and I agreed to be one of the editors. The variety of experience in the essays is intriguing--and while all of the essays need at least a little polish (what writing doesn't?), I've enjoyed getting a peek into others' lives and sharing some of their reflections. The process has also made me think about my own experience with motherhood and my philosophies about why I do what I do and what the ultimate aim is. Mostly, I've come to appreciate just how much we depend on God--for inspiration in mundane and great things. And I've come to appreciate even more just how much my own mother does for me.

So here's a shout-out to the mothers out there--those who are mothers in fact and those who are mothers in spirit.

And a reminder of why I do this.