Thoughts on Single Mother's Day...

This is the kind of Mother's Day I've always fantasized about:

(except I'd have a WAY cooler comforter)

This is the kind of Mother's Day I typically have:

Today I was thinking about what I would say for my Mother's Day blog. My initial thought was to talk about how much Mother's Day sucks as a single mom. How, for me, Mother's Day ranks right up there with Valentine's Day. How I have never gotten to sleep in on a Mother's Day, never had anyone make me breakfast or take me to brunch. How while others moms are being doted on, I'm cleaning up messes, doing laundry, making dinner, blah blah blah. Usually I hate Mother's Day with a red hot passion of a thousand burning suns. It's a blatant reminder of what a misfit I am in the "norm" of society.

This year Mother's Day has been markedly different for me. It started with Logan bringing home some things he'd made at school, like every year. But this time, his little gifts actually made me all teary eyed and sniffly.

Here you'll see a card and bookmark.
It's important to note the musical stickers.

Then I got this gift, which is one of those sunlight catcher thingies :)
It's important to note that this is in the shape of a microphone.

It was amazing and touching to me that Logan is growing up enough to really start to know who I am outside of being his mom. He understands what a big part of my life music is, and how much I enjoy being able to sing. I feel so blessed to have such a thoughtful child who is so aware of what goes on around him.

Yesterday, I had a great day with the family, spending the afternoon at the park with the kids and puppies, and having some burgers on the grill. We enjoyed the sunshine, each other and it was a perfect way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

Today - Mother's Day - I was fortunate enough to be at Crosspoint. Awesome day of worship with even awesomer friends. SOMEONE (who Logan referred to as 'that guy who helps clean up after church') was kind enough to slip Logan a $20 so he could take me out for a Mother's Day lunch, and I don't think he could have been any more excited to do this for me. What a blessing, not only for me - but for Logan - who was just so thrilled to be able to do something so grown up. He happily informed me that he would pay for my lunch, but that I would need to try to keep it under $20. Mr. Scott made sure to point out that after learning this valuable life lesson, he's pretty much ready to date :) While waiting for lunch, SOMEONE ELSE tried to slip Logan money to pay for it, but my honest little boy was proud to inform him that he already had a $20. We had a great, leisurely lunch with some of the best friends ever and people I consider to be my family. Once we got home, Logan couldn't wait for my last Mothers Day "gift" - washing my car.

I'm pretty sure that this day could not have been any better. In fact, it's probably the first Mother's Day in 8 years that I haven't wanted to hole up in a dark room listening to sad music and covering my head with my pillow. I have enjoyed every last second of it, and it's because I realized this weekend that Mother's Day may be a commercialized, Hallmark holiday that seems to be about bestowing extravagant gifts upon Mom and waiting on her hand and foot...but the real gift is the fact that God is allowing me to take the wildest and most rewarding journey of my life as a Mother. By typical standards, I went about it in a backwards way perhaps...but even so, I have been blessed with the responsiblity of raising and molding this little person. Logan's presence in my life has been earth shattering, heart wrenching, awe inspiring, deep inside my bones exhausting, thrilling, exciting, terrifying and ultimately miraculous. So, on a day where moms everywhere are being celebrated, I celebrate a God who has trusted this child to my care and am grateful for the chance I have to lead my little boy down a path of faith, virtue and goodness.

And I celebrate each and every person who played a part in making this a fabulous, not at all depressing Mother's Day. You know who you are, and I cannot express my gratitude enough for your presence in my life, and the life of my son.