Mother's Day

I woke on Mother's Day preferring Ibuprofen-in-Bed instead of the traditional breakfast offerings. I think it's the consequence of no sleep for the last several days and two full days of conference-attending. We just moved into a new house, sleeping there for the first time the night I returned from Utah, so it was appropriate, I guess, that I "christen" the toilet. Sorry to be graphic, but I felt better after throwing up and my husband observed that it was a fitting tribute to my motherhood as I spent many a morning doing the same while pregnant with my various eight.

It was a lovely day with calls from children and time spent with the others. And I did eventually eat the omelet my husband made for me.

Of course, I think of my own mother who has been gone a long 16 years now. I think of how she might have loved doing what I am doing...in a writers group, attending retreats and conferences, learning new things, meeting new people, submitting her work, pitching to agents.

I have no pictures of my mom on this computer, so I took this one from the family blog. This goes way back...I'm like 14, 2nd from the right.

My sister posted a poem of our mother's on the family blog, so I thought I'd repost it here. It's a good reminder...

Reflections on Praise
by Eileen Giberson

A word of goodly praise
Is a shot of sunshine,
Like a lizard on a rock
I bask in the warm rays,
Turning, toasting; thinking
This spot uniquely mine.

Father,
I know you are not displeased
with kind words from a friend,
But let me not linger too long
In this pleasant sunbeam,
Lest it become a beam of another sort.
Only you, as Hopkins fitly penned,
Know what to avow, what to amend.
So let me seek your approbation,
Let me shape my self-esteem
In the light of revelation.

How was your day?