Personal

The day before Mother’s Day

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Tomorrow is Mother’s Day, but today really felt like it to me. Something about the last several hours seemed almost perfect. (Well, until bedtime when Devin refused, as usual, to go to bed and my mood soured simply because I can’t seem to solve this problem of my kid staying up until all hours of the night and being a grump the next morning And, no, he doesn’t nap either…he’s just a 4-year-old insomniac.)

Anyway…

My mom and Louie came over today to help us get some stuff done around the house, including updating the doorknobs on several of our rooms. (Who knew switching out doorknobs could be so damn difficult? I seriously thought I could do it myself. Not!)

So Louie drilled and fitted while my mom, Devin and I gardened. For three hours. Weeding. Defining my garden beds. Pruning. Watering grass seed. Picking up random sticks and leaves. The three of us rocked the backyard. And Devin was a huge help. I think he was even more inclined to pitch in with my mom in the mix because he looooves her. But this isn’t entirely the case because he helped Scott for several hours last Sunday. He seems to just really enjoy being helpful and pitching in. It’s such great fun to have him out there as part of the process.

Then we all ate lunch on the deck in the gorgeous sunshine. It was so wonderful outside today. Comfortable temps with a nice breeze. Yes, there was some sweating. (Or as Devin said, “Mom, my face is getting wet.”) But it was good hard-working sweat as opposed to sweltering-in-the-sun sweat.

After the grandparents left to return to Kalamazoo, the four of us, including Scott and the dog, took a walk, with Devin pedaling madly on his bike and Juliette pulling madly on her leash.

Then the humans in the household went out for Mother’s Day dinner, which we prefer to do the night before when there are fewer crowds. They took me to One Trick Pony where I had a couple of glasses of wine, a great salad and then split a delectable dessert with Devin.

Our bellies full, we hit the streets of GR for a walk. Or a run as Devin preferred. We don’t get to spend a lot of time downtown, so it was nice to explore the storefronts together and enjoy the great weather.

I loved my day today. Tomorrow could rival it, though. Scott promises me that I’ll have plenty of time to myself to relax, which is most definitely a rarity. And then we’re capping the evening off by seeing The Police and Elvis Costello. My Mother’s Day gift to myself.

To all of you moms and grandmas out there — happy Mother’s Day!