Favorite Mother’s Day Memories

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When you become a mother you suddenly see Mother’s Day in a whole new light. We pitched this question to our FWMB team: What is your favorite Mother’s Day memory? The answers reveal that the small moments of love exchanged and understanding how ridiculously blessed we are to be “mom” are truly the treasures we tuck in our minds and hearts. Our answers are below, but we’d love to hear yours too! Comment with your favorite Mother’s Day memory. 

Ashley :: I had two children. My boy was about to turn four and my girl was close to her second birthday. My Mother’s Day had been anything but peaceful. With kids that age, there wasn’t much pampering or sleeping in. Breakfast needed to be made, clothes needed to be ironed for church, and someone was constantly screaming for “mama.” The kids had no respect for my holiday! By the time the afternoon rolled around, I found myself laid out on the couch. The day had been full of church and a long lunch at my mother’s house. Everyone was tired and my daughter found me as comfy a place to lay as any. I vividly remember closing my eyes as I wondered why I even had to pretend to celebrate Mother’s Day. It felt like such a tease. Moms just don’t get the luxury of stepping away from our role. We’re always in it! In that exact moment, my little girl hugged me tightly, leaned into my ear and clearly said, “I love you, mama” for the first time ever. I could’ve died right then. What perfect timing to remind me that our holiday may not always go the way we’d like, but the real gift is curled up in our lap.

Beth :: Early in my pregnancy with my first child I attended our church for Mother’s Day. As we were leaving services the ushers began handing out “Mom” mugs to all of the mothers as gifts. I was only just over 12 weeks pregnant, but one of the women at the door who knew me handed me a mug and said “Happy Mother’s Day!” I was so proud and humbled that she was already celebrating the relationship between myself and this tiny human growing inside of me.

Chalna :: My first born suffers from General Anxiety Disorder and OCD. I have to push him hard to do things that are second nature to the rest of us, and I pray constantly that I’m choosing the right battles and making a difference. Last Mother’s Day, during a very hard time, he brought home a precious frame that he crafted for me at school. The picture nestled inside is something I’ll never forget. When asked to complete the sentence, “I love you because . . . ,” his response was “You take care of me and help me when I’m stressed.” His words buoyed my spirit and renewed my weary soul. I look at that picture on my desk every single day and find the strength to keep fighting, even when it feels like there’s nothing left to give. It was the most amazing Mother’s Day gift and a memory that I’ll treasure for the rest of my life!

Diana :: A great Mother’s Day memory was in 2016. My daughter had made me a mom months earlier. I was up early (and I mean EARLY), nursing the baby. My husband surprised me by loading us in the car and going to a favorite overnight breakfast joint on Magnolia Avenue. Sadly, the restaurant had closed already, so instead we went to Old South Pancake House. I enjoyed a Dutch baby and a hot cup of coffee with my little family!

Elisa :: There were several years that I spent Mother’s Day in sadness, thinking that I would never become one. So, my favorite Mother’s Day memory has to be my first one in May 2013. I was finally able to celebrate this day with my mother, as a mother. There was nothing extra special about it. I don’t even really remember what we did, but I do remember joy and thankfulness for the opportunity. 

Emily :: Hands down, my first Mother’s Day is my favorite memory. My little darling was only three months old. If I think about it enough, I can practically still feel the joy and pride of that day, holding her up for our first Mother’s Day photo together. Adoption brought us together, but love made us family.

Heather :: I’ve received a few very special gifts from my own mom and my husband, and of course we can’t forget those sweet, sticky fingerprinted crafts my little guy has made for me at school. I cherish each of these treasures. But one that I remember, perhaps more fondly than the others, came from my aunt on my very first mother’s day. It caught me off guard when I opened it. It was a crown — just a plastic play thing from the dress up section of a party store. It seemed silly and whimsical — fun, but I was a little surprised. When she gave it to me, she said, “You’re the queen now. You wear that crown on your birthday and and on Mother’s Day, and you remind those boys that you are The Queen.” Something about that gift made me sit up a little straighter, made me feel a little more solid in my new role as mom — made me feel worthy of the honor it is to be a mother to my son. The crown, sadly, didn’t last too many years. It’s hard to explain to a rowdy toddler that you are, indeed royalty, and to please not pound mom’s crown jewels on the coffee table. But, as much as I’d still like to have that tiara, with or without it, I am still The Queen.

Jenny :: My favorite Mother’s Day was my first Mother’s Day five years ago. Miller was just four months old, so we loaded him up and went to lunch at my favorite Middle Eastern food restaurant (Ali Baba, in Richardson, Texas) and met my cousins and sister to celebrate. My husband Chris gave me the sweetest necklace with my son’s birthstone and initial, and I’m pretty sure we took a good long family nap that afternoon. It was my perfect kind of day! I felt so loved and celebrated.  

Julie :: My favorite Mother’s Day memory is from 2016 — when I was a mom for the first time. My husband helped my six-week-old baby “buy” me a necklace of a mommy and baby elephant together. It was incredible to snuggle with my little baby and realize that I was a mom to this precious human.

Mother's Day 2017Kelly :: I had dreamed of becoming a mother for as long as I can remember, so even though my first Mother’s Day wasn’t picture perfect, it’s still my favorite because I was finally a mother. I spent my first Mother’s Day with my daughter in the NICU, who was born on March 14, 3.5 months early. She was too sick that day for me to hold her, so I just stayed by her incubator, waiting (not so patiently) for the time to come, every three hours, where I could change her diaper and feel a little bit more like her mother.

Kristen :: On Mother’s Day of 1998, I was about eight weeks away from delivering my first child. I hadn’t really thought about the day other than giving cards to my mother and mother-in-law. But, that morning before church, my husband handed me a little box, and inside I found lovely little diamond earrings. I cried, and he told me that I’d make the best mother in the world, and that he couldn’t wait to raise a baby with me (joke’s on him! We had five more after that!). It’ll always be hard to top that day. 

Lauren :: May 2016 was my first Mother’s Day as a mom. I actually had completely forgotten about Mother’s Day due to lack of sleep with my newborn, so I was quite surprised when I came into the kitchen to find that my husband had made me breakfast completely from scratch! He also had flowers and a sweet children’s book about Mother’s Day for my son and I to read together. It was so special and a memory I’ll hold near and dear to my heart forever! 

Meagan :: Mother’s Day 2011. It was my first Mother’s Day as a mother, but it wasn’t about celebrating me that day. It was all about celebrating my wonderful mama through the eyes of a mom myself, truly recognizing all she had sacrificed for me over the years. From feeling the real pain of the hard decisions she had to make for me in my younger days to the indescribable joy she felt at my every success, I now understood just how deep her love for me really ran and could appreciate it in ways I never knew existed.  

Shanan :: During the end of my fertility treatments I had two exchange students from El Salvador living with us. They knew that I was putting off a much needed radical hysterectomy and that there would not be a good outcome for my efforts to have biological children. So, they surprised me on Mother’s Day with gifts and a cake. They decorated the house and woke me up with breakfast in bed. They told me that I will forever be their “American mom.” We took pictures together to commemorate the day they adopted me. Years later when they got married, each of them asked me to sit beside their parents as a second set parents. From that Mother’s Day forward I have always received Mother’s Day wishes from them.

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