My part of the world
Has been in a drought
Not a California kind of drought,
But we have been considered Severe or Extreme
For years.
We got our first 3″ rain
Around the first of May.
A rainy day view from the garden house door.
And it’s been raining off and on ever since.
We are now somewhere north of 7 “.
Farm ponds, creeks even lakes and rivers are filling up.
Roses and peonies are blooming wildly.
The vivid colors of iris fill the garden
Cassidy and Sloan came over
To make surprise bouquets for their mom.
Hard to catch these two without one of them being silly…or both.
Next door hundreds of praying mantis were born
To the amazed eyes of a child.
It’s a new beginning.
A second spring if that’s possible.
And what more appropriate weekend than Mother’s Day.
For a new beginning.
They are there at the start of our lives.
Queens of second chances.
But the truth is we don’t get to pick our moms.
I got really lucky in this category.
She taught me well
And was tons of fun along the way.
Mother and Elliott in the early 80’s.
Another mother you don’t get to pick
Is the mother of your grandchildren.
That was Elliott’s choice.
He did good…no great.
Kristina and Elliott have been married almost 11 years now.
They’ve survived graduate school for both of them.
The normal stresses of early marriage
And lots and lots of real life.
They have thrived.
Now they are parents.
Busy parents.
When babies come in twos
It’s all hands on deck
All the time.
Kristina is a wonderful mother.
She is patient
She sees joy in her children
And she’s relaxed
Which is huge in my book.
Motherhood is tricky territory.
It is not what Hallmark wants you to believe it is.
It is demanding, exhausting and rewarding.
The rewards keep coming long after the sleepless nights fade from memory.
But in the trenches that’s far down the road.
So this Mother’s Day
I wish for you Kristina, and mothers of young children
Not a single day, but days and years filled with real life.
Days of joys and challenges and giggles and growth
And love
And peace.
Gail
In My Garden 