Every day is Mother's Day in our house. Not a day passes when we don't talk about and appreciate Jenny. Since last June, within our tight triangle, we've had countless stories told, many tears shed, seemingly endless episodes of smiles and laughter, key moments of inspiration and unnumerable reasons for happiness all because of Jenny. In other words, our lives have been as much--or even more--about her as it has been about any one of us three.
The second Sunday in May mattered to Jenny a lot. As it should. She always worked so hard for our family every other day of the year (even on her birthday) that I was always thankful she could let us take care of her for just one day. Traditionally, Tyler would kick things off with breakfast. He'd make crepes or strawberries-and-cream on an English muffin. Last year, I practiced making poached eggs the preceding week before actually delivering an eggs benedict to her on game day. You see, unlike with the kids' performance in school or their other pursuits, what mattered to her on Mother's Day was not so much the effort, but the result. The crepe couldn't be broken, the poached egg had to be slightly runny and the consistency of the home-made cream had to be just so. I respect that she used this day to hold us to her highest standards. It meant something to us that she had expectations for us and that we met them. We boys would give each other high-fives in the background.
This Mother's Day, of course, is a more emotional one than most. It's our first without Jenny being physically being with us. It's also, in all probability, our last together under the same roof as a threesome. So, I asked the kids to come up with something showing the two of them as a pair. They replicated a photo they took back in 2015. Yesterday, Tyler used some chalkboard paint on a foam board from Science Olympiad to make his blackboard. Dylan used the same board from eight Mother's Days ago. When I saw that Dylan had some extra space, I asked if he could say that Jenny continues to bring meaning to my life. He said, "But, I didn't come up with that." To which I asked, "Yeah, but do you believe it and do you love Mom for it?" To which he responded, "Absolutely."
Commenti