Mother's Day

I had a vision of how my first mother's day would go. It would start by getting a bouquet of mixed flowers from my husband, as a token of his appreciation for mothering his child. I envisioned buying a new dress for Alivia and myself and I'd have Cody take our picture together before church, mother and daughter. We'd have a lovely Sabbath, fit with either a small candy something or flower something from the ward as a small recognition of the day. After church, we'd travel to my parents for a family dinner, where I'd get to be with my own Mom. And my day would end snuggling my newly bathed daughter as she drank her last bottle. I'd put her to bed and ponder the blessing of being her mother.

That is what I envisioned.

And this is how my first Mother's day actually went down.
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We woke up at 6:45 am in Arizona, packed the car, and headed to California after visiting the AZ Orvins.

Pumping in the car, preparing my Sunday School lesson, and putting on my make-up all while traveling through some of the ugliest parts of the California desert.

Eating lunch at Wendy's and changing my sick child's diaper in the dining section thanks to a full car and a lack of a changing table in the bathroom. Classy.

Driving through typical Riverside traffic while Cody napped and getting caught in horrible and unexpected Corona traffic thanks to a 9 car pile up.

Missing Sacrament meeting thanks to the traffic and having to change from my PJ's to some church clothes in the church parking lot.

Teaching my lesson and then leaving afterward to go home to a sick baby.

Going to my parents. Eating some lovely food while missing my daughter who was taking a 3.5 hour nap in my parent's closet.

Attempting to take a picture with my daughter and failing miserably.

Feeding my daughter her nightly bottle while driving home in the car.

Going home to a dirty home full of luggage and laundry and feeling the beginning stages of a cold.
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But, my day was amazing still.

Cody didn't get me flowers. After all, he'd either have to break the Sabbath by going to get some or he'd have had to get them in Arizona and they would have surely died in the car on the drive back to CA. He did surprise me by getting me a sweater and necklace I was eyeing earlier that week. So that was perfect.

My daughter, although sick and having to travel in a car for 7 hours, was smiles and cuteness and an absolute trooper. And her nap allowed me to spend more time with my mom, an amazing and devoted mother.

My lesson, went well. And I love teaching the Marriage and Family Relations course every week, but it was so much more meaningful to teach about parenting and the sacredness of that responsibility on Mother's Day.

Connie, my mother-in-law, snuck a book and card in my luggage and I opened it last night. She is so thoughtful and loving and the book she gave was on motherhood. So as I fell asleep around 2 am after a long night of cleaning and unpacking, I opened up that book and started to read about this new role of mine, that of a mother.

Let me tell you, I love being Alivia's mother. It is a blessing to love her; to hold her, feed her, clean her - mother her. And even without flowers or little somethings from a ward or snuggle times or successful pictures, I couldn't be more blessed, than to have a day, devoted, to remembering the privilege that is mine in raising her. How'd I get so lucky?

Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers out there!