Sunday morning musings

The wedding is just a little over a week away and the activity level is rising. Our first guest from out of the country has arrived. The weather is cooperating with sunshine and all of the trees are budding, making our garden particularly lovely.

It’s early Sunday morning. Everything is quiet.

We are lucky. Everyone is helpful and cooperative. No one is being picky or petty. Just as my other children-by-marriage have found their ways into my heart, this new one has already made inroads.

When my children were young, all I wanted was for them to be healthy and to grow up to be good people. I never pictured their marrying and having children of their own. I never realized that I would be blessed with children who would give me such joy or marry people who I love as my own or produce the 20++ most adorable children in the world (OK, I’m prejudiced—I’ll admit it.)

I remember during my pregnancies being excited that with the birth, I would be meeting someone new, someone I would love and nurture and care about my whole life. I remember thinking of each child as a surprise package, coming with no instruction manual, functional description, or predicted behavior. The serious curiosity of one, the devilish grin of another, the smile that came upon awakening, the quiet contentment at play, and bubbly laughter were clues as to who they would become, but they were impossible for me to interpret. Raising each of them was a different task. Each child required something different from me. Always I hoped that I was nurturing each child in the best way. The days, weeks, years, seemed to require a constant reevaluation as more of their personalities evolved and as each became his/her own person.

I don’t really know if I was a good mother. I do know that I love the way my children have grown up. I know that no mother could be happier. And now that the last one is getting married, there is nothing but joy and gratitude to the Source of all blessings.