Sometimes She's a Mommy's Girl

In a previous entry, I shared that Allyson is such a daddy's girl that I sometimes feel hurt and left out. But now and then, Allyson lets me know how I rate. An example was on Mother's Day. 

In the weeks leading up to the big day, Allyson alternated between being very secretive over the crafts she was making for me and begging me to take a peek. "No, save your card for Mother's Day," I kept repeating. 

On Sunday morning, she and Bill made me a big breakfast of Bill's famous French toast (made from thick slices of French bread dipped in a ridiculous amount of egg and fried in a ridiculous amount of butter), yummy bacon, cantaloupe, mango, and pears. 

Just as I speared my first bite of French toast and swirled it in pure maple syrup, Allyson asked, "Are you ready for your presents now?"

"Let Mama eat first," Bill said. 

Allyson was dancing with excitement by the time I'd polished off a slice and a half of toast and four pieces of bacon. (They were little pieces.) She presented me with a large decorated folder she'd made at school out of manila paper. It was overflowing with cards, stories, and crafts.

At school she had made a decorated oven mitt and a framed picture of herself. "Oh, I really needed an oven mitt!" I said--which was the truth. The ones we got as wedding gifts nine years ago are so threadbare that I sometimes burn myself. Also they are VERY stained and ugly. 

Bill had also gotten me an oven mitt as well as a cool silicone-coated glove that I can use to hold hot meat while I slice it. As a young woman I never dreamed I would get so excited over oven mitts, but I'm wise enough now to recognize these practical gifts as a sign of Bill's love. "It's perfect!" I said of the glove. "I never even knew they made such a thing."

"Well, you'd been complaining about burning your fingertips when you cut chicken," Bill said. "I searched everywhere for it."

My heart pitter-patted.

Here's my favorite card that Allyson made:

My love for you gros and gros... Happy Movr's Day

And look at this bouquet she made in art class:

As soon as I find a shadow box in the right size, that one's going up on the wall, right next to these masterpieces by Ethan and Allyson: 

Bill created that display in our entryway recently to showcase the kids' art projects, which we'd been collecting in a box for years. He just spray painted some clipboards black and used them to hang the pictures. 

Looking at these pictures gives me such a lift. As I told Gentle the other day, the rainbow picture on the bottom makes me think of the "bluebird of happiness." 

What About Ethan?

Allyson wasn't the only one who made me feel special. Ethan gave me a card that was funny AND sweet, and very apropos. He didn't get to share our Mother's Day breakfast, but he did come to our family celebration at my brother Rick's that afternoon. We enjoyed Rick's famous smoked brisket, Aunt Judy's rhubarb pie, plus way too many other things. The best part was visiting with Aunt Judy, Aunt Mary, and Uncle Dave, who were visiting from Indiana. And the second best was Emily's cake balls. 

I'm blessed among women.