Happy Mother's Day!

Found languishing in the drafts folder..I have no idea why I didn’t hit the PUBLISH button in this one, but here it is on the last day of July.

Happy Mother's Day to all y'all with kids, young and old. Mine are getting up there, 3 in their mid-30's and 1 in his mid-20's. All of them still middle school-aged in my head, but that's logical given that I'm still in my mid-30's mentally. I turned 59 this year. What a concept, nearly 60 and probably 10 years past 1/2 way to my expiration date (as far as I can tell, only God knows and I'm ok with that. )

Being a mother has been amazing, challenging in myriad ways, and quite the growth experience. I've needed help all the way through it, from God, from the kids father, Himself, and from Capt, my most recent beloved. God chose to take Himself and Capt to Heaven and honestly, it was probably the best thing for both of them, as life was getting pretty uncomfortable for them. I don't look at it as something God did to me, but more as something He did for them. What a wonderful thing and eventually He will do it for me AND FOR MY KIDS! That has been the biggest gift of my life, each of them finding their way, guided through experience and circumstance, and by The Good Shepherd, into the flock of His sheep. I think of that daily, thank Him for it, and wonder at the paths they took, as well as my own, crooked, full of digressions and attempts at finding my our ways (those NEVER worked, I hope we've learned at this point!). I am sure more mistakes will happen, more incidents of personal attempts and failures and returns. 

The fact is, my kids have prevailed and I am so proud of them! Each in their own ways, each with their own stories of falls and redemptions, and returns to God's comfortable haven. I look at each one, seeing who they were when they were infants, toddlers, younglings making their own decisions in their own ways and so proud of how they turned out, even when there were periods of fear and anxiety about their lives....would they even survive? They did, and the relief, every day, that they made it through, is miraculous. Thank You, God, for protecting them.

My own mother had her own circumstances that she made it through, both in her life and in watching me make my own (poor) choices then coming through, ending up with Himself, then Capt, and my own kids. Her calm nature and methods of handling crises carried over to me, and how I handle them. I appreciate that. Her gardening, love of plants and flowers, love of learning a new skill, her sewing, all of those things are carried on by me, as perfectly normal things because that's what I grew up with. I am thankful for that. 

For those of you with wonderful mothers, Happy Mother's Day, with children who have survived and prevailed, Happy Mother's Day! For those of you who have survived a rough childhood, You Made It! You have prevailed in the face of adversity! You may even be your OWN mother, looking after your own self and doing the best you can, congratulations, YOU MADE IT.