Mother's Day

First off, a shout out to my SIL, Meredith, on the event of her very first Mother's Day.  I hope it's perfect and I'm sure baby Grady will treat her well.

Second, the winner of the knitting gear giveaway is Amy!  I used Random.org to choose.  Congrats Amy, and a huge thank you to all of you who participated.

And now to discuss a very important mom.  Mine.

Is it just me, or was I one of those rare 'ugly' babies?  And you thought they didn't exist.

Growing up with my mom was like a life-course in fun.

She had ways of making each day interesting.

And she was caring.

When we lived at the farmhouse, my parents took a trip to Mexico (remember the sombreros they brought back that I posted on Memory Lane Friday?).

This was the first time they left us.

We were in good hands - very good hands indeed with my dad's parents.

They came to the farmhouse to watch us.

And wouldn't you know, not long after they left my brother Taylor got the stomach flu and started puking all over (and I remember quite well my uncle's poodle, Pierre, licking it up off the kitchen floor while my grandmother tried, unsuccessfully, to get him to stop so she could clean up).

But aside from the stomach flu, I remember something else about that time my parents were gone.

My mother made a scavenger hunt for us to do after she left.

With clues all through the house.

Little reminders of how much we were loved.

If you squint really hard, you can see me there on the front steps of the house.

The final prize of the scavenger hunt was located in the base of the grandfather clock.

I don't remember the prize at all.

I don't remember the clues.

What I remember was knowing that my mom loved me.

She loved me enough to make life special, even when she was gone.

That's the kind of mom she was.  And still is.

Here we are on my wedding day, in hiding so Paul wouldn't catch sight of me in my dress (which, incidentally, Mom made for me from a pattern I picked).

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!