The Sweetest Day

I want to remember yesterday forever. I have a feeling that Mother's Day will not always be such a big deal to my babies, but sometimes I think it rivals Christmas in their little heads.

I told Paul, "no gift" this year because I want to wait and pick out something for my new patio. Maybe that made it even more special, because I wasn't expecting anything. Normally, Paul takes the kids shopping and they pick out something nice, (and something for which I have strongly hinted.) Instead, on Sunday morning, I woke up at 7:30 and went to wake up the kids for mass. Nobody was in bed. Hmmmmmm. So I went downstairs and they were all there -- waiting for me. Kathleen said, "Mom, what do you want for breakfast?"

I replied with my usual menu, an English muffin with peanut butter & flax seed. I was really glad she asked because I didn't want to eat waffles or something else equally fattening. I was saving my calories for later in the day. With a flourish, Kathleen handed me a plate with my muffin and peanut butter. She, David & Michael had gotten up early and made it, knowing that I would want just exactly that! Now that was sweet, but what really cracked me up was this: Both boys slept on their floor on Saturday night so they would be sure not to oversleep and miss their opportunity to make breakfast. (I'm not sure how sleeping on the floor was supposed to prevent oversleeping, but I didn't question.) Michael said he woke up at 4:45 in anticipation, but he was able to get back to sleep until 6:00. All the kids were up by 6:30 and cooking for me. Then they waited very quietly -- with no TV and no fighting -- until I made it downstairs at about 8:00. What a miracle!

Then the kids presented me with their little gifts. Kathleen made some lovely coupons, Michael made a plaque and a card, and David... my sweet little David.

Several weeks ago, David took his allowance and got Dad to drive him to Home Depot. He carefully picked out a packet of flower seeds. Then he found a little plastic cup and filled it with dirt. He planted one tiny seed in the cup. He read the seed packet to find out how quickly the seed would germinate, and he was very careful to plant it far enough in advance so that there would be some kind of plant showing by Mother's Day. Then he took the cup and seed up to his Grandpa & Nonnie's house so that I wouldn't see it. That kid went up to their house every few days to check on the seed and water it. He left notes for the grandparents about how to properly care for the seed. A couple of times the cup and seed fell over, or got flooded, and there were emergency measures to save it. Once, I was driving up to the grandparent's house to do some laundry (refer to the laundry crisis a few weeks back.) It was right after school, and I was very surprised to see David walking home from their house. I asked him what he was doing there, and he said he had left his bouncy ball there on Sunday and was going to get it. I bought it -- hook, line & sinker. He told me yesterday that he was really checking on the plant, and he thought I would guess because of his big, giant smile.

Yesterday he presented me with the fruit of his efforts. A little plastic cup with a tiny, tiny plant. I would upload a picture if I could. The entire plant is about the size of a pea, and out of all the hundreds of plants I own, it is my favorite.