The terrible, horrible, no good, very bad Mother’s Day

Mother’s Day was approaching and as a mom of busy little boys, I was wishing for three things:

1. A clean house,
2. A little pampering,
3. A good night’s sleep.

I planned in advance so that Mother’s Day would be the best ever:

1. I scheduled someone to clean my house a couple days before Mother’s Day.
2. I invited a couple friends to meet me at the nail salon to get our nails done.
3. A good night’s sleep was very unlikely, but a girl can hope and dream, right? (pun intended)

Little did I know that it would be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad Mother’s Day/week.

.

Thursday morning a cleaning lady was to arrive at my house at nine am. I LOVED the idea of having a clean house for Mother’s Day weekend. I’d be able to play with my kids while someone else cleaned the toilets – YAY! What a gift.

The morning came and went, and no one showed up. I called and they had forgotten to add me to the schedule. No one would be coming.

I wasn’t going to have a clean house for Mother’s Day.

That’s okay…at least I’d get some time that night with some girlfriends and get my nails done!

Ted would take care of the boys after a busy day at work. He would put them to bed so I could have the evening with my girlfriends.

Well, traffic was really bad that night, and Ted got home late. The minute he walked in, I passed him the baby, and headed out the door.

I rushed into the nail salon and found my friends already getting their nails done. I sat in an open chair next to them.

“I’m sorry ma’am,” the manager said, “we are closing in 15 minutes and aren’t doing any more nails tonight.”

My heart sank. No pretty nails for Mother’s Day.

I chatted with my friends while they finished getting their nails done, and we walked out together as the salon closed. We weren’t done talking, and it was cold and raining outside, so I suggested we sit in my car to carry on our conversation. We chatted for another hour and then I tried to start my car – it was completely dead.

Unfortunately, none of us had jumper cables and we could not call our husbands to help. They were all home with sleeping children.

We looked around for a kind person who may happen to still be out on this cold, dark, wet night. We spotted one person. I asked him for help and miraculously (like an angel!?), he came over with jumper cables, started my car, and we all made it home safely.

Friday morning I got up early. I had a Mother’s Day Tea to attend and wanted to have time to take a shower and put on nice clothes. I got myself ready, then got each of the boys ready. As I was putting our baby into his carseat to leave… he spit up all over me. All through my hair, down my shirt, my skirt, and onto my shoes.

I frantically searched my closet to find another outfit to wear, quickly wiped the spit up out of my hair, and raced into my first Mother’s Day Tea … just in time.

Around 3 AM on Mother’s Day morning, I woke up to the sound of Clark crying. I went in to check on him. He had thrown up – all over himself, his pajamas, and his bed.

This wasn’t the Mother’s Day morning or good night’s rest I had hoped and wished for.

In fact, I decided it was a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Mother’s Day … week!

I lifted Clark out of the messy bed, gave him a warm bath, and put him in clean pajamas. I changed his sheets, tucked him back into bed, said a prayer, and rubbed his back until I thought he was asleep.

I crept out of Clark’s room, thinking about how tired I was, and that I’d probably only get another hour or two of sleep before the baby woke me up, when I heard the sweetest words:

‘Happy mudder’s day, mama.”

In spite of Clark being sick and tired, he somehow remembered that it was Mother’s Day.

Tears welled up in my eyes as I realized that my FIRST WORLD PROBLEMS had blinded me to my FIRST WORLD BLESSINGS!

In spite of how bad things are going, we can find something to be grateful in every situation.

1. My house may be messy, but it’s warm and it’s ours.
2. My nails might not be painted, but my hands are strong enough to hold and care for my children.
3. My car might have died, but I have a car to take my kids where we need and want to go.
4. My kids are healthy. When they spit up/throw up – I have extra clothes and sheets – and a washing machine and dryer to clean the laundry.
5. I have a husband who cares for me and our boys so that I can get away to be with girlfriends.
6. I have friends that sit and chat with me. Then they stayed with me, in the cold rain, until my car got started again! And bonus – they are friends who encourage me to be a better wife and mom. (PRICELESS!)
7. And the biggest blessing of the week…I GET to celebrate Mother’s Day because I have children!

Now that I look back on all my Mother’s Days…this terrible, horrible, no good, very bad Mother’s Day, was actually my favorite one. It allowed me put things in perspective and see the gifts and blessings I so easily take for granted.

When I began focus on my blessings, I realized that this was a …

WONDERFUL, fantastic, so good, very blessed Mother’s Day!

.

Don’t let 1st world problems make you forget your 1st world BLESSINGS!

And by the way, while I tried to plan the perfect Mother’s Day week – Ted planned a really sweet Mother’s Day.

He got me flowers. He had the boys color me pictures. He picked up some delicious food so I didn’t have to cook. He told me to get away for a few hours to read and relax.

While I was gone, not only did he take good care of the boys – the house was clean when I got home!!

It really was a WONDERFUL, fantastic, so good, very blessed Mother’s Day!

.

.

What about you? What gift might you be taking for granted? Do you have a favorite Mother’s Day memory? Leave a comment.

Please consider subscribing.

Thanks for reading! You may be interested in this related post: Finding Joy in the Motherhood in the Mess