Happy Mothers' Day

Happy Mothers' Day to all.

We had a delightful one, and so many tweets came out of our little girls' mouths as they enjoyed the day, my honored cara spoza begged them to slow down because she couldn't compose then send these pithy epigrams as the girls continued to delight and to amaze us with the innocence of their child-like observations.

We went to a performance of the President's Own of a whodunit: "A composer has stolen Beethoven's Fifth Symphony!"

Ho, hum and yawn, right?

Or so I thought.

How it actually turned out was that their selections were an appropriate synopsis of the spectrum of Classical music (from Baroque to Contemporary), and they had special guest stars, including Old Man B himself (very well played) and ...

And the composer who stole the Fifth Symphony motif, for David Rakowski composed a piece that had its World Premier at the very performance we attended. And he was there, participating in the program, and then chatting, so happily, afterward, with the parents and children who attended.

That was very nice, and what else was very nice was that the conductor and musicians, who were so proper and imposing in their bright red uniforms, were in actuality so kind and sharing with the children, signing programs and letting the children grab their instruments to pluck at the strings.

I thoroughly enjoyed that afternoon, but I think the children enjoyed it more, for Elena kept working on piecing together who the culprit was, and Isabel's face was rapt, asking her mother after each piece was performed "Was that the one?"

Yes, the children and I enjoyed the concert, and I could see that Mommy enjoyed it so much more, because it was such a bit hit with us.

The rest of the day was a whirlwind of eating and reading (um, yes, actually, that's an accurate statement) as we whizzed off to La Madeleine for "brunch" (at Four PM) and then to Borders to spend their gift cards that they received for their joint First Holy Communion.

At the end of the day, we came home, pleased and exhausted, a full day out and about town, together, as a family on Mothers' Day.

I then called my own momma down in Louisiana, who herself sounded tired, but pleased that I called, and then my little sister Beki to wish her a Happy Mothers' Day.

This Mothers' Day was the best that our family has had, and it's all due and thanks to the person in question celebrated. My cara spoza, that every kind, patient, and gracious lady, made this Mothers' Day memorable.

I hope you and your family had a Happy Mothers' Day, too.

Moments in Time

Moment 1: this past week

Stomp. Stomp. Stomp!

Shucks, I think to myself, I fell asleep on the couch!

My cara spoza looks at me with bleary eyes, having just been jolted awake herself, too.

She garbles out something that my addled brain eventually translates into words that says: 'Elena's bleeding.'

I rush to the scene. Mother is helping child in the banyo, child has bloody mouth and lips and is gently holding her nose closed.

Whew! It's just a nose bleed.

I tell my cara spoza I will wash the sheets and clothes right away.

Li'l Iz is asleep on the big bed.

"Isabel," I whisper, rubbing her tiny back gently, "get up, honey, I have to wash the sheets."

Eventually she comes to, too, and the first thing she sees are the black splotches on the sheets.

"What happened?" she asks anxiously.

"Elena got a bloody nose," I answer gently.

Terror enters Li'l Izzy's eyes.

"It's okay," I say quickly. "Elena's okay."

My reassurance works as the terror is replaced by relief. Li'l Iz, fully awake now, runs off, shouting "Mama!"

But the first thing she does it to confirm that her older sister is alive and okay.

...

Moment 2: one week prior.

Li'l Iz was upset and crying, holding her mother's hand during on of the daily outings.

EM walked up to her. "It's okay, Isabel, would you like to hold my hand?"

Isabel looks to her Até being so kind to her. "Yes," she whispers.

Li'l Iz lets go of her mother's hand and places it in the palm of her older sister's. Off they go, skipping gleefully, with each other.

Carefree.

Another Milestone

Very tired. Very happy. That's how we feel, on this, the day after the girls' First Holy Communion. But we haven't gone back to the school routine yet. We're busy remembering the little and big things from yesterday, and from this past year. It hadn't been a journey just for them. We learned much from teaching the girls, and though they could have learned well in CCD, we were happy to be right in the thick of it at home.

As the pictures show, we celebrated, and how! There was lunch with the godparents and dear friends, who have served as our surrogate parents. Then there was dinner with friends and relatives, who are also members of our parish, and who have witnessed the girls' increased participation at Mass.

It was certainly a milestone for the girls. But for us, it was another step in our faith journey.