My First Mother’s Day

Last night as we were getting ready for bed my husband said to me, “I’m sorry that this wasn’t the Mother’s Day you pictured.”

It wasn’t. The Mother’s Day I’d been imagining since May 27, 2019, the day I gave birth to my first child, included a road trip to Newburyport, enjoying high tea at The Lady Finger Lounge. I had picked out matching gingham outfits that Arielle Marie and I would wear during our adventures. But as everyone is aware, Coronavirus happened and the world as we all know it shut down.

So instead I woke up on my first Mother’s Day, nursed my daughter, and then went back to bed while Alex watched a backlog of Sesame Street episodes with her. I actually slept in until 8:30 which hasn’t happened since before I had her. Then I enjoyed a long, hot shower and gave myself a mini facial. I traded in my gingham dress for my comfy cozies, but I still put on my jewelry, including the rose gold “Mama” bracelet from Noemie that Alex and Arielle gave me for the holiday.

Arielle and I shared a plate of coconut pancakes while Alex had some eggs. And then my mom and I indulged in some homemade school bread. My sister had sent me the recipe a few weeks ago and I’ve just gotten up the courage to give it a try. FYI – I nailed it! My attempt tasted just like the school bread at EPCOT’s Kringla Bakeri og Cafe in the Norway pavilion.

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We exchanged gifts, my mom gave me the cutest Coach wristlet with the Aristocats on it. My sister and brother-in-law had sent over their gift – another Aristocats wristlet, this one from Dooney & Bourke. Great minds certainly think alike … and they all know me so well!

I did a few small projects, including cleaning and organizing my jewelry armoire. Alex worked on redoing my closet, another Mother’s Day gift and one I’m very excited about. I’ll have to share some before, during and after photos because it looks amazing.

He treated us to lobster rolls from our local diner and then took Arielle to visit his mother while I took a nap. Later we visited with my sister and her husband so that my mom could spend a little time with them and Arielle could see her godparents. We finished off the day with some lasagna and enjoyed the Disney Family Singalong while eating funfetti cake.

I sent Arielle to bed with our usual line up of lullabies, but made sure to give her an extra kiss and thanked her for making me the luckiest mom in the world.

So no, that was not the Mother’s Day I had planned. It was better. So often on holidays I am so busy that I don’t have the time to reflect on how blessed I am. I have a wonderful family, a hardworking and loving husband, and as I’m constantly reminded by my sister and mother, the best baby in the whole wide world. It’s a reminder that even in quarantine we need to enjoy every single day even if that day doesn’t go as planned.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers, grandmothers, godmothers, foster moms, step moms, fathers acting as moms, etc., etc., etc. Here’s to another year of one of the most challenging and rewarding roles on the planet. 

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