Here’s a benefit of being an expatriate I hadn’t expected: I get to celebrate my motherhood twice. English Mother’s Day (actually called Mothering Sunday) was yesterday (Sunday) and I had a great day. It all started at Mass on Saturday evening, when I was unexpectedly applauded and given a daffodil along with all the other mothers there. Then, Sunday, I slept in while the husband had first breakfast with the hobbit, and I actually felt refreshed when I joined them for second breakfast. Next, I volunteered for market duty so the husband could putter around the house with the little fella, and had the pleasure of bumping into some friends on my way (and they say London is a big city…). I walked with them a few blocks, delighting in the fact that it was just little old unencumbered me, them and their cute baby, and then I shopped slowly at the farmer’s market under a blue, blue sky. Finally, I stopped to sit on a bench and eat one of my favorite things – a sausage sandwich – before heading home. So far so good; and it only got better.
As the hobbit was finishing his lunch, we gave him his first haircut, which was a total success, if a little confusing for him, especially when we spritzed his hair with water. (This was actually a little amusing for us, I must admit. His confusion and the the scrunched-up face he made when we spritzed, I mean. Call me cruel, but it was just too cute.) Quickly, he got into it though, helping to comb his hair along the way. He really wanted to help with the cutting, too, but we had to draw the line somewhere, and just this side of sharp scissors seemed a pretty darned wise place to draw it, no? After that, we went out to buy him his first pair of real shoes! What a delight for this mom. Up to now, the guy has had these soft shoes that were great when he was crawling and just starting to walk, but now that he’s getting on toward running! Let me put it this way – the minute he had the first shoe on, he started stomping his foot like a wild man. He was laughing and honestly, I’ve never seen anyone so happy about shoes in my life. It reminded me of the good old days when my own mom would buy me sports shoes and I would go around showing everyone how much faster I could run with the new ones. Happy guy. Happy me.
On our way home, I stopped into a funky little massage place I’ve been eyeing for a while and found that yes, they could fit me in for a 30 min head, neck and shoulder rub. Whoopee! The husband and hobbit headed to the playground and I got to sit in a comfy chair and have some of my knots worked out. It was a totally unfussy pleasure, and completely without the bells, whistles, “relaxing” spa music, essential oils, and fluffy bathrobes that often make the experience of massage a little too precious for my taste. Ahhhhhhhhh.
We got in some family laughs before the hobbit zonked, and then we had a real hog up of a dinner (as my dad might describe it): enormous hamburgers and caesar salad by me, fried potatoes and ice cream sundaes by my husband. Wow-wee. Over dinner we caught up with each other before he heads off on another few days of work travel, and over sundaes we caught up with our friends on Lost, who just keep on being lost, albeit, fortunately for us, in an edge-of-the-seat sort of way.
A little reading before bed (Dreams of My Father, by Barack Obama; which I enthusiastically recommend), and boom, I’d say that was the best mother’s day I’ve ever had. And there’s another one just around the corner. Lucky me.
Let’s hear it for the mothers!
