Happy Birthday, Mom.

I am celebrating you, as always.

Thank you for loving me so well and shaping me into the woman that I am today.

I am so proud to be your daughter.

Three Years

This picture of Mom and me is hanging in the nursery overlooking Jack as he sleeps. It will still hang there, a moment frozen in time, when his sister is born this fall.

I spent some time today reading back over the entries I've shared over the past three years, and at the same time I read the comments and reflections from so many of you. I am touched and humbled by the fact that some of you, even those who have never revealed their exact identities, continue to write and follow the events in the life of our family. You provide encouragement and strength to me during the times I need it most, and I want you to know how grateful I am.

Mother's Day 2013

"I miss thee, my Mother! Thy image is still The deepest impressed on my heart." -Eliza Cook

The thing about mothers, I am learning since becoming one, is that they appreciate the mundane things in your life. Not everyone would want to know that Jack learned to say "gross" today (repeating after me when I reacted to him wiping snot on the back of his hand). Few people would appreciate a detailed story about daffodil picking or go back-and-forth on the phone with me for ten minutes while I decided if traditional taco sauce or green enchilada sauce would better complement the Mexican creation I was whipping up in the kitchen. The majority of people, even many readers of this blog, would rejoice with me over the fact that Jack is going to be a big brother this coming October. However, even my closest friends could do without the weekly reports of the size of the baby and news about its developing reflexes and the fact that it has fingerprints. Moms don't get bored as easily. When they do get bored, they are really good at masking it. Just one more reason to miss you, Mom. Jack can also say "purple" and "turtle" now, and those two words are much more charming than "gross."