Tuesday, March 3, 2009

If...

Some days I miss my mother terribly. Today is one of those days.

Mom, I wish you were here. If you were, we'd already have eaten breakfast and you would have joined us for a game of pirates on the living room floor. I built a formidable fort of legos. Henry pretended the Jack Sparrow action figure was a Philistine soldier (the scripture stories are sinking in!)

Here's how the rest of the day would go:



I would show you my finds from the consignment sale yesterday. I would brag about how I didn't pay more than $3 for any item. You would tell me I don't need to broadcast the price of my purchases. Yes, I would say, but don't you just love a bargain? Yes, you would say, almost smiling.



I would tell you that I think the polka dot dress is my favorite. But, ooh! is the "Parisian Romper" vying for first place! It's kind of refreshing to dress a little girl in light blue. A much needed break from all the pink, I would observe. You would agree. Then we would agree that the striped cozies are the yummiest li'l things we've seen and we would plan to dress Lily in them at bedtime this evening.

I would also brag to you about how I bought butter for $.99 at Tom Thumb yesterday. And got a free 2 liter of Dr. Pepper with a coupon. You would pretend to care deeply about my groceries, all the while only hoping that the Dr. Pepper is of the caffeine free variety. (It is not, but if you were here, my pantry would be well-stocked with a 12-pack of CF DP. Did you get that code?)



We would spend the afternoon busy in a project because it's too chilly for the park, because you have great taste, and because I'd be a fool not to take advantage of your helping hands. Perhaps we would frame the goodies I ordered from Etsy last week and hang them on Lily's sad, bare walls. Or put together the reading corner for my children that already exists in a corner of my imagination. Maybe you would even split the cost of frames with me? You're generous like that. But that's not why I wish you were here.

I would just love to be near you. I would love to watch my children love you. And watch you love them. I would love to visit with you about your Ancient History class...maybe even help you with your homework. I owe you after all the times you stayed up with me, making posters, typing reports, editing papers. We would take morning walks (assuming you'd brought Halley so she could stay with the kids). We would eat potato chips with our lunch. And drink juice (is it cran-apple you love so much?) And at night we would watch movies, probably the ones you had brought to share with us, your net-flix favorites from the past several months.

We would likely have at least one little disagreement, over something trivial like food-preparation or a manner of doing things. Then we would work it out. And talk for an hour about familial roles and how it's sometimes hard to have two "mothers" in one house. And then we would understand each other (and ourselves) better.

And go on with the bliss of togetherness.

I hope maybe this post made you feel close, Mom. What do you think of the consignment finds?
The Etsy goodies? I wish you were here to see it all in person.

But mostly, I wish you were here to see my children in person. They are more darling and delicious than all the treasures in the ether.

But you already know that.
Love you.

10 comments:

  1. It is truly one of life's great injustices that our moms don't get to see every minute of these little children's adorable existences. I remember when my parents were on their mission and Sam was Lilly's age, I would feel like they (and we) were missing out on so much of each other! I wish your mom was closer for you. Great finds, by the way. I'm just now wondering...does Lilly have 2 "l's" or just one? :)

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  2. Well I wish YOU were HERE. :)
    If you were, I'd take you bargain hunting at Earth Friendly Kids and Winco. And you could help me decide exactly where to hang my finally framed family pictures. And pick a paint color for my bedroom. And then we could laugh our guts out about the ridiculous things we did in college. And we would say, "At least REI Ty bought us some tasty ravioli."

    and p.s. congrats on the 99 cent butter! That is amazing! And delicious!

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  3. Oh this makes me miss my mom. :-( I'm glad I get to see her the end of the month!

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  4. sweet.

    I love the photo of all the little dresses lined up. so proud of your bargain.

    can't wait to see your etsy treasures framed up!

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  5. I love the relationship you have with your Mom.

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  6. Love the consignment purchases. They are adorable. I am a resale junkie. They have some really big kids resale events here. We would have fun going to them together.
    sweet post, I hope you get to see your mom soon.

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  7. My mom dropped in today when she was done with work. We were all excited to see her, but so sad that I had to leave right away to go to a Church meeting! I'm still sad, but grateful that she can stop by like that, and thankful that she does! Moms are the best!!!
    Love the great finds! I just got some lovely Sunday dresses for Jill for $3-4 each! So great!

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  8. You and your mother share in a tender relationship, Em. Thanks for sharing your heart.

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  9. This is such a sweet, sweet post!! Makes me want to curl up on my momma's couch for a long talk right now!

    (And...your little finds are delightful!)

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