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| Exploring the wide open country on our breakfast break. |
With DH deployed, I knew that Mother's Day wasn't going to be anything fantastic. That's just life and that's no big deal. I didn't really know what my Mother's Day would be like. I had planned to come home to visit my family for the summer, but after DH's deployment was moved up significantly, I didn't have any specific date picked. I knew that packing myself, my kids, and my dog into our truck for a 12+ hour drive was going to be a feat. Not to mention the fact that I would have to get the house all taken care of in a state to be left for a few months. This might not sound that challenging to you, but for a single mom with a 1 year old who undoes all your doing, a challenge it is.
I decided to look over the calendar and just pick a day and go for it. I saw that there was a "Give Parents a Break" scheduled for the Saturday before Mother's Day. Give Parents a Break is one of the most beneficial resourses for someone with a deployed spouse, it's my saving grace some months. It's 6 hours of free childcare provided once a month at the child development center on base. I decided this was my answer to how I was going to get it all done. I would pack, clean, and run errands on Saturday while the kids were playing and then Sunday morning (Mother's Day) we would hit the road.
I worked hard to be a prepared momma. I didn't want the trip to be a nightmare. We picked out special snacks and games for the trip. I made and sorted out all 3 meals, packed snacks in little bags, and rounded up road games, and maps to look at. I knew that my 4 year old would be easily entertained with technology, but I try not to rely on that. I want him to look around and experience the beauty of the world and the adventure of the road trip. I was much more concerned about my sweet and sassy little girl. I loaded a bag with little toys I could just keep handing back over the seat and I box of tissues for her to pull out when I was desperate.
Inevitably it was 10:00 pm on Saturday night and everything still wasn't done. My little lady was finally asleep, but LB was still up. I was pretty exhausted from the non-stop day, but my LB was such a trooper. He was tired-eyed, but still happy. He helped me carry the last things into the night and pack them into the truck. My heart was so full to see my happy little helper trucking along. It is one of the happiest moments I have had as a mother. Seeing him help someone else and genuinely care, just melts my heart. It was a small but sweet reasurrance that somewhere along the way he was learning what I was trying to teach him. I was doing something right. My children can grow up to be anything in the entire world that they want (or out of this world- LB is set on being Buzz Light Year), but what I want for them it is to be genuinely good people- that's it. When I saw that unprompted goodness in him, it made my Mother's Day.
After most of the things were loaded, we came inside and he "surprised" me with a cute little card he made a preschool. He gave me the best hug and told me that he loved me. It was the only thing I got for Mother's Day and it was the best.
At 4:30 am I got up finished loading the truck with kids, coolers, and a dog, and we hit the road by 5:00 am. We ate, sang, danced, and even cried our way out of California, across Nevada, through Utah and finally into Idaho. There are moments in life when I doubt my decisions, but as we rolled in the valley where I grew up, I knew in my heart, that I had made the right decision for my little family. It was such a fun Mother's Day with just me and my kids (and I got to see my own mom too). Was it a lot of work? Well yes it was, but so is motherhood. I believe that work and happiness go hand in hand. It wasn't my best Mother's Day, but it was my happiest.
PS: DH pulled through and surprised me with flowers in Idaho. He's a genuinely good person too.
