Sunday, May 08, 2011

A day like any other. And like no other.

It's an interesting day in Levyland. My wife already wrote about my latest revolution of the sun (here), so I'll save y'all the annoyance of hearing any more about me. I'd rather talk about her.

I was privileged to be there when we welcomed our eldest son into the world, and again when his younger sister and brother joined the family. I watched Debbie go from friend to girlfriend to wife to mom. I watched her come alive when a squirming ball of joy known as Zach was first placed in her arms. She was always destined to be a parent, a natural in figuring out what our munchkins needed, what they didn't and how we both needed to navigate whatever it was that they chose to throw at us.

She's my parental GPS, my guide, my force of gravity. Not a day goes by that I don't wonder how she keeps all of our family's balls in the air. Were our roles reversed, I'd be dropping pretty much everything.

Yet she somehow does it without looking like it's difficult. Things Just Get Done. I'll never know her secret, but I'll always be thankful it was her path I crossed, and it was me who she chose.

Happy Mother's Day, sweets. May every other day of the year* be as richly filled with goodness as today promises to be.

Your turn: What is is about moms that makes them so...treasured?

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* Tangent alert: Mother's Day is, like so many other days on the calendar, a manufactured holiday, a cheap marketing ploy designed to sell more stuff. I'm not against the concept of valuing mothers (or dads, or love, or even the jolly red guy and the egg-dropping rabbit, if they float your boat), but I do feel somewhat uncomfortable when quite legitimate sentiments are force-fed to us in the interest of filling more boats with inventory and more cash registers with plasticized cash.

From where I sit, this regularly scheduled commercial imperative takes the focus off of the thing that matters and instead puts it squarely on the gift, the thing you buy, the guilt that wraps around you if you don't. And what of the other 364 days? Well, Mother's Day coverage doesn't deal with those: all that matters is today.

Not in my world. Every day matters. And while it's nice to have one day where you make a special effort to remember, it's even nicer to find small ways to deliver the same message every other day of the year. Because if you save it up for this one day, you're kinda missing the point.

5 comments:

lissa said...

I need to make a slight correction, Carmi - Debbie didn't go from one to the other, in the roles you mentioned; she just took on each successive one with grace and beauty and remained the perfect companion for you all the way through. You are truly a model couple, and I am honored to be your friend, both of you!

Happy Birthday to you (a second venue for me to do that ☺) and many many more deliriously happy years!

Kalei's Best Friend said...

When I was 17 and worked in retail, I swear people did wait till that one time of year to celebrate their mothers/fathers... I've never liked the holiday cuz it reminded me of it being a 'Hallmark' holiday... which I think it was intended to be... Because, who profits? THE merchants do... What I treasure most about Mother's Day are the hand made items my kids would make... The letters i got w/the crooked drawn hearts...I still keep all of those cards, letters, and my kids are adults...As one lady told me "everyday is mother's day".

David Edward said...

blessings to you and your fine family on this bright spring day!

Morahmommy said...

Thank you for the lovely words my sweet. I love sharing life's adventures with you. Happy Birthday!

xoxo

Karen (formerly kcinnova) said...

You clearly celebrate your family every day.

As for designated holidays, we tend to mark them as special in a homespun way, to avoid the trappings of Hallmark and its ilk.