I’ve had lots of great experiences as a new mother, but one of the better ones has been getting to see my own mother become a grandma. Sadly, we live far apart (my parents live in Germany) and don’t get to see each other very often, but we keep in touch through emails, phone calls, and occasional Skype sessions. I also send my parents tons of videos and pictures to keep them up-to-date on all of Jackson’s new tricks.
The photo above was taken the moment my mom and my baby met each other for the first time. It was a few days before Christmas — the first night of Hannukah — and my parents had just arrived to New York after a grueling 20-hour commute from their home in Germany (including a long delay). It was late and they were tired, especially my mom who was still recovering from knee replacement surgery a few weeks earlier, but they didn’t want to wait any longer to meet their first grandbaby. So they dropped off their bags at the motel, took a cab to our place, walked up the three flights of stairs to our apartment, and finally got to hold Jack in their arms.
This will be my first Mother’s Day with a child of my own and even now, after only seven months, I have so much more appreciation for the sacrifices my own mom made to raise me and my sister. She put her teaching career on hold and stayed home with us until we started school. She threw the best birthday parties, and took cake-decorating classes so she could make us amazing cakes every year. She encouraged me at a very young age to write. I’d come home from school and tell her all the stories of my day and she’d say, “Write it down, Wendy, write it down!” She read to me every day. One of my favorite childhood memories was the year she read the whole Little House on the Prairie series to me.
I don’t know what my mom’s dreams for me were (other than me becoming a writer one day). I don’t know whether I’ve turned out like she hoped or if I’m something different altogether. I do know she likes this site and that she’s been one of my biggest supporters since day one. Not only does she read the site every day, she’s my unofficial copy editor, too. (She’s not always able to edit columns before I post them, so don’t blame her if there’s an error before she has a chance to correct it!). She reads the site so much, she talks about some of you commenters by name. She knows your stories. She roots for you. She notices when a regular hasn’t been around in a while and worries.
This Mother’s Day — my first since becoming a mom myself — I honor my own my mom and the love and support she continues to provide. I honor my mother-in-law whom I never got to meet. She passed away when Drew was young and I know she would be so proud to see the kind of men and fathers her sons grew up to be. And I honor those of you who are also missing your moms this weekend.
If you want, please share some of your favorite memories of the women who raised you, what you love about being a mom, and what your plans are this Mother’s Day.
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