Mother's Day

This year Mother's Day was much like it's been the last few years. Lunch at Mom and Dad's with my family and my sister's family. The kids are bigger this year and the dad's are slightly wiser and the moms are a little grayer. (Well, at least I am, the only one who doesn't enhance my natural color.) But still, to sit around a table with the Delicious Dozen of our family is just as sweet as ever. If you know us, you know that there is a lot of laughter and stories and food...oh, the food. But to see us all together is more than all that. Twelve people. Three generations. Seven boys and five girls. All loving each other. It's kind of amazing. I hear about families that are estranged or don't see each other for whatever reason and can't imagine it. We all get along. We all support each other. We all share so much that sometimes it's too much. And all of that happens a midst cooking and cleaning and diaper changing and toddler tantrums and dirty hands and muddy feet and video games and go carts and hyper dogs and sibling/cousin spats and lots and lots of popsicles.

And yesterday was one more of those days spent with my two favorite moms in the whole wide world, their kids and mine, and the dads that made it possible. And really, what is Mother's Day about if it's not about watching kids play, eating food grilled by dads, and drinking Diet Coke while sitting on the porch swing in the shade on a sunny day? It was as close to perfect as it could get.

And I have to add that all of this is only possible because of my mom. Many years ago I realized that she is our rock. Our glue. Our north star. Without her we would not be who we are or where we are or what we are. She gave birth to my sister and I and I'm sure she would agree that that was the easy part. Through all of the ups and downs and trials and joys of all these years of mothering all these people, she still is, and will ever be, the very best of the very best. I adore her.