May 13, 2012. This year I finally got IT. I have been a mom for 5 years and have celebrated Mother’s Day for a very long time. But this year, I got IT.
This morning, I was woken in a fashion that only Riley Myles could pull off. He jumped on me, from what felt like the top rope in a professional wrestling ring, displaying enthusiasm that must come from Jamie’s side of the family. When I opened my eyes to see what fell on me, he yelled point blank in my face- “Happy Mother’s Day”-time 6:20am. Those who know me realize that displaying this kind of behavior early in the morning towards me or even near me is frowned up. But, this blond haired green eyed rather large 3 year old performed this special morning greeting like he had rehearsed it for weeks. To me, his Mother’s Day greeting performance was comparable to the chamber music or a symphonic composition created by an influential Russian composer. Simply, it was perfect. The precise timing of the jump, the cadence and volume of his voice and the not so graceful way he fearlessly threw himself on me was beautiful. And then… IT hit me; or rather landed on me.
What is IT? IT’s not what you think. Not that I was so lucky and blessed to be his mom etc…
Rather, I could see in his eyes in that moment that he loved me with all of his 3 year old heart. Waking me up at 6:20am to simply wish me Happy Mother’s Day was the best way that he could think of to show me how important I was to him.
Reagan, who is much like me, took a more conservative approach and gave me a card he made at pre-school. It was perfect too.
I have never given much thought to my feelings being reciprocated because I will love them regardless of how they feel about me. But knowing and understanding that our bond is mutual is one of the best gifts I have received- and IT just so happened to be given to me on Mother’s Day.
