Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all of my mommy readers!

I just love Mother's Day, although it's often difficult to strike a perfect balance between pampering time for me as a mommy, and spending time with my own mom to make the day special for her. That balance was achieved today - church with my family, lunch and a much-anticipated movie with my mom, and dinner with my in-laws. The only person I missed seeing today was my stepmom (who was working) so we'll have to do a special Mother's Day something-or-other later on.

I am so grateful for the women in my life - a mother that has always been fun and encouraging and loves me no matter what, a mother-in-law who is pretty sure I can do no wrong, and a stepmother who accepted that role more graciously than anyone I've ever known (and who I'm lucky to call my friend.)

I'm grateful for the women in my church that I saw this morning, that love on me and my children and teach and encourage me along the way. They inspire me in so many different ways.

But my Mother's Day didn't really happen all in one day. It started on Friday night, with a mother/daughter dinner and dance for our Girl Scout troop. It was so much fun seeing everyone dressed up - and dancing! There are so many more moves in our troop than I would have expected! None from me, of course - I was unfortunately born without a sense of rhythm. But I was quite impressed by some of the dancing that I saw that night - from the moms and the girls too. (I was also quite envious of their energy levels. Those girls were unstoppable.)

As the girls and I drove home from the dance, I couldn't help reflecting on how blessed I've been by the moms in our Girl Scout troop. I'll admit it - I don't make mom friends easily. Or non-mom-friends, for that matter. I'm naturally quiet around people that I don't know well, and so set in our current routine that I rarely encounter people that I don't know well anyway. I'm kind of a hermit - I like to be at home with my girls, doing school and just being together. Sometimes I have to be dragged kicking and screaming out of the house to go out and do something fun already. I don't like talking on the phone, which means that I'm not always great at keeping in touch. And the more overwhelmed I feel by various life demands, the worse of a friend I tend to be.

And yet, here is a group of 26 moms - 26! - that I have come to treasure. A few of them were friends before the troop was ever formed. A few more were old friends from school that I rarely saw before Girl Scouts. But the majority of them...well, we only share the common denominator of a daughter that's interested in Girl Scouts. That doesn't sound like much of a foundation for a friendship, but it's proven enough. I see the very best of motherhood in every one of these women - devotion, loyalty, kindness, patience, wisdom, humor, and love. And they spread it around the troop, heaping it not only on the girls, but on each other. I have witnessed so many acts of kindness between the mothers in our troop, and I have no doubt that if any one of them was in need of anything...the other moms would be right there to pitch in.

I just love them for all of the above.

These are only a few of our beautiful troop moms, but you are ALL special to me. Thank you for all that you are and all that you do. Happy Mother's Day...Alicia, Amy, Angel, Angie, Becca, Beverly, Chandres, Ethel (okay, Kristie), Eve, Jane, Jill, Kristen, Lisa, Markeyta, Melinda, Nikke, Nydia, Paige, Robin, Sandy, Shannon, Shemeka, Sherika, Susan, Theresa and Traci!