So many of you are probably wondering where I’ve been the past several months. Is she hiding under a rock? Did she fall off the face of the earth? No, rest assured that I have not gone into hiding and I still have both feet firmly planted on the ground. So what gives?
It just so happens that, since the New Year, I’ve been a little busy. On January 28th I gave birth to our precious little daughter, Hannah Sophia. She surprised us by coming into the world 10 days ahead of schedule. She was born happy & healthy via c-section without any complications and we were absolutely thrilled.
Two months after our little bundle of joy arrived, we left the California coast for our new home in Geneseo, Illinois. My husband is in the Army and this is where he is now stationed, but more on that topic in a future post.
We have had so many wonderful joys that come with parenthood since Hannah’s birth & not a day goes by that I don’t feel truly blessed. As you all know, this past Sunday was Mother’s Day and, being a new mom myself, I wanted to share my experience of this special day with you all.
I must admit that I did have some expectations of how my first Mother’s Day would unfold. I’ve always been big on celebrations and have this way of romanticizing life’s milestones…BIG time! So of course, Mother’s Day was no exception. About a week or so before my husband and I discussed our plans for this special day. We decided we’d all go out to breakfast in the city. Much to our surprise, everyone else within a 20 mile radius had the same exact idea…go figure! Needless to say, the day did not go exactly according to plan. We got out of the house late, which I’m beginning to realize is the norm when you have a baby. Then when we arrived at our destination, IHOP, we were greeted by a bunch of fellow Mother’s Day celebrants and a half hour wait. We decided that a half hour was a little too long to wait with a three-month old so we went in search of another restaurant. We soon found that each place we came across had a similar crowd gathered outside which was a clear indicator of a similar wait time. So after spending another 30 minutes or so in search of breakfast, we ended back up at the IHOP and my husband went in and put our name on the wait list. He came back to the car and explained that it would be about 25 minutes. In the meantime, I’m seated in car trying to nurse a fussy baby. Hannah was screaming and crying due to a combination of gas and exhaustion (it was now naptime). Fifteen minutes passed by and I began to surrender to the fact that breakfast was no longer going to happen. At this point, it was almost noon so we headed over to a nearby sandwich shop and had lunch instead. After lunch, we ran a few errands with our fussy baby in tow. By 2 PM the events of the day began to take a toll and I felt tired and so did everyone else, so we decide to head back home.
We hit the road and we’re enjoying the scenic drive home and discussing our plans for a relaxing evening at home when all of the sudden my husband is cut-off by an aggressive driver. The driver tries to pass us but encounters another vehicle approaching head-on so he swerves to avoid the oncoming car and in doing so cuts us off . My husband slams on the brakes and honks his horn. The careless driver who is now in front of us flips my husband the bird. To my horror, my beloved returns the gesture. At this point, my husband’s blood is boiling and suddenly all ration flies out the window. After calmly requesting that he calm down and reminding him that we have a baby in the backseat, my husband does so a few minutes later, but now the mood in the car is solemn and it is very quiet. I think to myself - Wow, what a great Mother’s Day!
Grateful to be alive and in one piece, we arrived at the house and I go straight to the bedroom to lay down with my baby on the bed. A few moments later we are joined by my husband who smiles and climbs onto the bed. Exhausted from the day’s events and disappointed, I began to tear up. My husband, feeling bad, apologized for the day's unfortunate events and offered to take me out to dinner. I reminded him that it was getting close to Hannah’s bedtime and that I really wasn’t feeling hungry. He said that he still wanted to do something nice so he leapt from the bed, changed into his “Super Dad” t-shirt and left on his mission to “save Mother’s Day”. This brought a smile to my face. When he returned he presented me with a yellow plastic shopping bag from the local nickel and dime store with an envelope that read “To: Mom” attached to the outside of the bag. The contents inside were all foot related items which he explained were for a pedicure. I was so touched by his gesture. Later that night he gave me a pedicure.
Despite the conflict of my high expectations and disappointing low points of the day, I could not have asked for a better Mother’s Day. Sometimes, the best things in life are the ones we don’t plan for. I will always remember my first Mother’s Day because it was the day I realized that when I surrendered and let go of my expectations, I was able to fully realize how blessed I am to have a beautiful daughter and wonderful husband. Who could ask for a better gift?
I hope all of you moms had a wonderfully blessed Mother’s Day! It’s so good to be back to the blogoshpere! See you all next week.
A special thanks to my mother-in-law who took some of these photos!
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