painted pottery from my dear ones

I am that mom today.  The mom who gets home-made gifts from her kiddos.   This is the first time.  And I am beaming.

I held this two pieces of pottery painted by my children, and I instantly treasured them.  I had a flash to the future when my children are grown and out in the world, one morning I wake and go into the cupboard to grab a plate, and I see this plate my two year old made.  And I am taken back to this very moment when she woke up, ran down the stairs, and said, “Mommy, happy mother’s day!” And continued to “help me” unwrap her gift telling me it’s very fragile and the “techniques” she used with her paint brush to get the beautiful swirls.

Another flash into the future:  my five year old son is a grown man, I have just been out in our garden (which, of course, Brian maintains!) and gathered a few of the first spring flowers of the year.  I come back in to look for the perfect vase and I find this one my son made me.  And I pause as I am brought back to this very moment when he told me how he painted it with his favorite color and how he painted the whole thing, even the bottom, and signed his name.

I can see why my mom treasured the hand-made gifts we made for her.  I can see why other moms talk about how the gifts made with tiny and messy hands are absolutely the best mother’s day gifts a mom could imagine.

Today, I am grateful for the privilege to be a mom.  I am awed by the delight in my children’s eyes when they offer me something they made with their tiny hands.  I am in love, gooshy, and so so deeply grateful all over again.