Happy Freakin' Mother's Day

As the wife of a chef, I know better than to expect a lot of special treatment on Mother's Day, one of the busiest days of his whole year at the restaurant. Living in Maine, Mother's Day coincides with the season kick-off. Tourist season, that is. So not only is it a huge day for restaurants it is also, often, the start of the summer opening hours. For us, that means we'll see a lot less of our Chef from now 'til Columbus Day. It is also the official start of black fly season.

I hate Mother's Day.

The kids and I had pancakes this morning, we love our pancakes. During breakfast a client called, not for business but to see if she should go with her family to brunch at our Chef's restaurant. Pangs of jealousy. I left the table to talk. I returned to find little girl had peed in her seat and little boy had dumped the last of our best real maple syrup onto his plate. He was swirling a piece of pancake in a half inch of amber gold and I got all teary eyed at the waste of maple syrup, the pee on my persian rug and the lack of breakfast in bed or out in a restaurant on Mother's Day in general. I sat right down on the pity pot. I hate the term 'pity pot' but sometimes it just suits.

BUT we wiped up, wiped off, and got dressed. Outside was fabulous, breezy enough to keep the black flys at bay, pleasantly cool and very sunny. I dug in my garden, chased the kids around the yard, read a book! We had cucumber sandwiches for lunch on bread I baked this morning - yum! Little girl napped, son watched a movie while I sat with him in the couch and finished my book! Then our Chef came home and made us dinner while I soaked in the tub!

I Love Mother's Day!

There is a lot of pressure at Mother's Day. It is what Valentine's Day used to be, way back, before marriage even. You know, showing up at work the day after, the girls at lunch sharing Valentine's gift and dinner stories. Now I am a Mom and Mother's Day has eclipsed Valentine's Day. The V day passes without a second thought in our house, but I am personally guilty of making Mother's Day somewhat of a big deal, even though I know my husband will have to work, and not only will he have to work, he will have a grueling day! Do you know they served over 500 brunches this morning/afternoon?! Fat fucking bitches. Woops - there is my jealousy coming out again.

Yeah, so anyway, here is the nitty gritty: I got 3 cards, a promise my car will be detailed next Sunday (that means a professional will shampoo 2 1/2 years of vomit, piss and cheerios out of the seats and rugs) and the best tissue paper flower I ever saw. Plus this chance to think about what a freakin' lucky lady I am today, how wonderful my husband is and my kids, well, of course, how wonderful they are too. Mother's Day is a chance to reflect on what being a Mom is, which is often under appreciated, but who ever said having children was about us? Because being a mom just makes you a given in the life of your child, the life that is very much theirs, not ours. That's hard to swallow sometimes. It is hard to not control my children and somewhat confusing since I need to keep them safe and healthy 'til adulthood. Where do you draw the line between parenting and controlling? Oh wait, I don't really get to draw that line, do I? Yup, it is hard to accept the lack of control I have over my kids, and I am not talking about discipline. But anyway, to all you Moms out there, Happy Mother's Day, enjoy the ride!