My Mom

My mom left yesterday. She got here Thursday the 4th and immediately went to work cooking, cleaning, organizing, playing with and watching Andrew and Natalie, grocery shopping, and anything else you can think of. It really was the easiest 10 days I've had for as long as I can remember. I was able to just dote on and enjoy little James and Natalie and Andrew were happy and entertained. It didn't matter if I was up during the night because not only could I take a nap or sleep in if I needed to, but I also could run on less sleep when someone else was seeing to dinner and helping with the other kids. She helped get the game room organized, she cleaned out the pantry, she put up my fall decorations. Really, you name it, she probably did it. And all that with a limp and a big boot on one foot. She has a pulled tendon, maybe a bone spur and I could tell it hurt. But she wouldn't think about taking it easy. She wanted to make sure everything was easier for me. (Andrew was very concerned about the boot. She couldn't kneel for family prayer with it on so he was relieved when she didn't have it on the next night and could kneel down. He also told her, "We don't wear boots to church" and so he was glad she didn't wear the boot to church.)

So this post is a tribute to my mom. What a beautiful, lovely, selfless person. I know she would do anything for me--for any of her kids--or for anyone. I'm so lucky to belong to her. She is a great example of motherhood, service and friendship. Thank you, thank you, thank you mom for everything. And thanks to dad for being on his own for 10 days and for being so supportive of her coming to help!

The kids keep asking me where grandma is. On the way home from the airport Natalie must have asked me 15 times, "where gma go?" Andrew fell asleep on the way to the airport and when he woke up--after we had dropped her off--the first thing he asked in his sleepy voice was, "Where's granma?" He was pointing to the seats around the table last night and said, "that's my chair, that's daddy's chair, that's mommy's chair, and that's granma's chair." Tonight Natalie said, "I wanna sit in gma's chair." While she was here, only grandma could read stories to Andrew at night and tuck him in. He loved her to tickle his back as he fell asleep. And they would negotiate how many books she would read. She would start at 2 or 3, he would start at 10 and they would always agree on 5. We all miss her.