Usually our most difficult day is Mother’s Day, yesterday instead was as sweet as it comes.

All of my children feel the pressure by the media, Hallmark, school, and even at church to honor and celebrate Mom. I’ve tried to remove the pressure from them, to downplay the holiday as I’m not one to get all excited about manufactured feelings.

So I’d told the kids that it was fine if they made me something or just helped me out in some way. Most of them did help me in the garden somewhat. We have odd chores like chasing the chickens back into their pen, patching up their escape routes, and hauling buckets of woodchips from the pile out in the meadow. We had a really nice day and I always excuse my older children to go visit their in-laws or celebrate with their own children and spouses.

My 16 year old daughter, the same one that I’d caught sneaking out the other night, devised a plan in her head in which she asked my two 20 year old sons to take me out to the movies after supper. When we came back home, she and the younger kids had a PowerPoint presentation, a candlelight second dinner, music and they all expressed appreciation for me and all I’ve done for them, unusual in and of itself.

It surprised the snot out of me literally as I wiped my eyes and nose.

We put the little kids to bed and just had a sweet, quiet time; an unusual occurrence in my rowdy family.

The little kids had made flower gifts at church; everything was low key enough to be as emotionally serene as possible.

Over the last 20 years it seemed that we often had new kids. While the addition of new kids to a family always brought joy and excitement it also would rip scabs off healing hearts and add a level of stress during the adjustment process. Now, not adopting anymore, we’ve grown past that previous existence. Our excitement now comes from grandchildren being born.

A new and different level of calm has descended upon our family. Still we have many huge issues to work through but our numbers at home is going down and not being replaced. It makes for a different family environment for us now. The grown children still need me constantly but that too is different now.