Well, we solved our car problem and picked the munchkins up in our new-to-us SUV on Friday afternoon. On Saturday, the Ladybug said, “I bet this car feels small to you momma. But not to us, because we’re used to driving in the “Zu-Zu.” We like it.”

Then on Saturday I went out to run errands which the crew and we got to spend a few hours at the bookstore. Oh the drama of the bookstore! {smile} We like to occasionally take them out to the bookstore to spend some of the gift money they have and as a reward for good school efforts. Their little banks were filling up again and we’re in the last week of school, so I took them to pick out a couple books for their summer reading. Besides, I had a couple member coupons for Mother’s Day.

The sales clerk was getting such a kick out of their three little voices echoing back and forth across the children’s section, “Momma, is this in my price range?!” He said, “They have a price range? That is so cute!” I said “Yes, their budget is half our money and half theirs. It helps them appreciate the books more at home.” Hopefully, anyway.

I don’t think of it as “cute.” I like to think of it as teaching responsible stewardship. But maybe it planted a little seed for when that young man has a family. We came home with a copy of Shiloh, Lego Kingdom, Lego Ninja, Face-to-Face with Frogs, the Great Migration, the Burning Bridge, and Brotherband Chronicles #1.

The kiddos are going to be home again with a babysitter this summer (although we’re all a little bummed that it won’t be “Ms. Maya” again) and we’re looking forward to redeeming a few extra hours each day with them. We’ve also printed out copies of the Barnes and Noble Summer Reading Journal and the Ladybug has her eye on a free copy of Tuesdays at the Castle and The Tale of Emily Windsnap, so she’ll be quite busy.

And then it was Mother’s Day.

And Mr. Fix-It walked on eggshells.

And honestly, so did I.

Because sometimes I don’t know if I’m going to be a mother, for Mother’s Day, or if I’m going to be a motherless daughter, for Mother’s Day. The pain doesn’t lay itself out in advance and let me prepare…I don’t see it coming and have a chance to run and hide, or give Mr. Fix-It a signal to batten down the hatches…sometimes it’s just there.

But this year I was just a mother, on Mother’s Day.

And I got marigolds in a red solo cup for my garden. And a hand-drawn picture of me holding hands with the Cowboy. And a cookie sheet turned magnet board covered in goldfish from my Speedracer.

And Mr. Fix-It helped me trim the rose bushes, and my irises are blooming, and my allergies have gone crazy, and we’re building a new pen for the ducklings, and we have a new grill again (after nearly 2 years!)…and I was just a momma.

Just a momma, on Mother’s Day.

And it was good.

And I thought how sometimes, when you look over the whole field, you just see grass. But when you walk through it, day-by-day, you learn to see the flowers. And if you didn’t walk through it each day, you’d never see the purple and the yellow and the tiny spots of pink…

And I thought about how “all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

And about how, if you don’t love God, and you aren’t following His calling and His purpose, those words aren’t your promise. Everything is for good, only if you’re allowing God fully into your life. It’s not an absolute, it’s a promise based on your choice.

This year I was just a momma on Mother’s Day…because all things work together for my good, because I choose the Lord.

How was your Mother’s Day?

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