Day 3: Hats Off For Mom!

One thing we all know (at least us moms) is that a mother is a woman who wears many hats. Today I wore quite a few. I was a chef, a maid, and a chauffeur, three hats I wear every day. But then I got to play nurse because my darling Jason, who can't seem to catch a break in the health department lately, has had nasty red spots popping up all over his face since Monday. At Jared's insistence, I took Jason to the doctor today. Glad I did, because it wasn't simply a spider with a crush that's been attacking my Jason. He has impetigo, which apparently is like a strep or staph infection. It is contagious, but not terribly, as long as you keep your hands clean. The doctor gave us some antibiotics and we were on our way home. The next hat I put on was that of a construction worker, as I headed outside to build the garden boxes Jared promised to do ages ago. Got 'em done. Nine of them. I am the Queen. In the midst of all this, I got to wear an unexpected hat for a few moments. That of animal control. Jason emerged from the house announcing that a bird had just flown in through the back door. Seriously. So I went inside, and sure enough, there was a bird beating itself silly trying to fly out my kitchen window. I pulled out a dish towel, climbed up onto the counter, and after a few tries, was able to toss the towel on top of the bird. Then I was able to pick him up, carry him outside, and let him fly away. I made sure the door was closed as I headed back out to finish my garden boxes. As if that wasn't enough to wear me out, I pulled out the gardener's hat next. I filled one of my boxes, the biggest, destined to house carrots, beets, and radishes. Now it just has to settle a few days and I can plant my seeds and seedlings. After all that, I still managed to make a Home Depot run for more garden soil, make dinner, pick up some iris plants from the Morgan's, and get grocery shopping done. Wow. No wonder I'm so tired. Night, all!

Days 1 & 2: Young Women in Excellence

I have to admit that today and yesterday, my own family had to take a backseat as I prepared for tonight's Young Women in Excellence Program, which I was in charge of. I've been working on putting this program together for over a month, and I have to say, it turned out smashingly! How does this relate at all to motherhood? I think it totally does, because even though this program was not one to celebrate my own family, it was one to celebrate the accomplishments of the fabulous young women that I hope my children will look up to. These girls are smart and talented, and they have testimonies of the gospel and the courage to do what is right. And I, along with Emily Wolf and Cherie King, got to honor these wonderful girls in front of their families and peers. Many of these girls obviously have phenomenal mothers, and I could probably learn a thing or two from them. I think that I do, whether it be directly from these women, or their daughters. But they set the standard for what I'd like to become. They all have qualities that I hope I can nurture in myself. I think this experience has been a great lesson on motherhood! How's that for spin?

By the way, after posting this, I noticed that the picture quality looks terrible unless you double-click on it to see it close up. Have to do my girls justice, you know.

Week 11: The Perfect Mother

I spent the last week quilting with my wonderful mother. Although I know she feels that she doesn't always set the best example of motherhood, I've still managed to learn a lot of great things from her. For example, I've learned the ability and the importance of putting others' needs before my own. I've been feeling inspired in the past few days to reread the Proclamation on the Family, and to focus on perfecting the art of motherhood. The Proclamation states that the mother's primary responsibility is for the nurture of her children. Wow. Broad or anything? So I looked up nurture in the dictionary. It defined nurture as "to feed and protect; to support and encourage; and to bring up; train; educate." Okay. A little more specific, so it gives me a place to start. Going back to the Proclamation, it says that "parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, to teach them to love and serve one another, to observe the commandments of God and to be law-abiding citizens wherever they live." It's a tall order, but again, it gives me an idea of what I need to be doing as a mother. So this week, I'm hoping to be able to nurture my children better: to feed and protect them, support and encourage them, all with a gospel perspective.