It was a bit rainy on Mother's Day, so I grabbed my raincoat on the way out the door to church. My son went without a coat, and I have stopped suggesting one. My daughter grabbed Marty's coat. Her brother didn't care about that until we got to the church parking lot. Then they started to bicker a bit about who should wear the coat. I thought I wouldn't get in the middle of it and just smile as I should on Mother's Day.
The soloist sang a song that was not one I had heard
before. It was not in the hymnal. No one else was expected
to sing along. It was beautiful. It was about staying by
your faith in times of stress, even when things are at their worst,
have faith and you will get through the tough times. I started to
choke up and fearing tears, I reached into my coat pocket to see if
there was a tissue, though I hadn't worn the coat in months. No
tissue, but I pulled out a little button, "I Am Loved.", it said.
Better than a tissue.
I was able to regain my composure and
thought about what I could do to handle this situation better. I
remembered a quote that had been emailed to me the same morning, "Be
kind to everyone, for everyone is fighting a difficult
battle." I wondered if the song was affecting my kids in
the way it was affecting me. I took the "I Am Loved." button and
slipped it in 'her' coat pocket. I would have liked to have had
two buttons, one for each child, but I could do this later for Marty,
as he doesn't wear the coat that much anyways! I squeezed his
hand and tickled his kneecap to let him know he was loved. Not
too long after, my daughter put her hands in the pocket and pulled out
the button. She looked at me, smiled and put it back.
The rest of the day's events were unique, starting out with taking my daughter to work, and my son wanting to take me to breakfast on $13 from the change jar. We ended up skipping the breakfast, due to the long line, and opted instead for grocery shopping for french toast fixings, all at his suggestion. Two hours later we had purchased a grill, charcoal, grilling tools and lighter fluid, compliments of a gift card he remembered we had in my wallet! We never did cook the french toast, but he put together the grill and cooked hamburgers and brats! He was so proud of himself. And I was proud too! My daughter made a salad, had brought ice cream and raspberries for dessert from work, and made cookies. She also went out after work and picked wildflowers from the paths around our house and lilacs from a section along the road. With all this, she was busy sewing, too, and presented me with a beautiful quilted purse she made! My son bought a card which I believe is still in a bag in the garage. He tried to hide it when he bought it. I think it got mixed up with the grill assembly instructions. It gives me something else to look forward to.
With all these sweet memories of my day, one more is not to be forgotten. The day had gotten quite a bit colder and rainier as it pressed on. In the middle of our travels after his sister abandoned the coat when she went to work for a bit, and before we purchased the dinner supplies, my son put the coat on. He helped me deliver some quilts and quilt racks to my office. As he was waiting for me to unlock the trunk door, he slipped his hands in his coat pocket. He pulled out a pink button. "I Am Loved." He didn't put it back in his pocket. Instead he looked at me, and slipped it in my hand, with a big smile on his face. I accepted it and delighted in the realization that one sweet gesture to me a long time ago, was able to be passed on to both my children in one day, and they passed it right back to me.
It is often easy to think you are not loved, and a little reminder is sometimes all it takes to gain the strength to keep going. And, we all need that reminder.
"Mattie"
06/26/06
Visit The Helzberg Foundation's website www.iamloved.org for real inspiration! Thanks, Helzberg Foundation!
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