How do I want to be recognized this Mother’s Day?

That’s the theme of this week’s Parent Bloggers Network BlogBlast in support of Johnson’s new charitable giving site Baby Cause. I wrote about the campaign last week, and have been giving some thought to the question since.

The truth is, anything my son gives me for Mother’s Day — whether handmade, selected at the local gift shop with his Dad or plucked from my fairly short wish list — will be absolutely perfect. And pale in comparison to the joy of having him in my life. Even when he is being a pill.

I’m one of those moms who always wanted children, but wasn’t driven by the need. If it happened, it happened. And if it didn’t, I had my husband, his daughter and my pets, who were and still are my other children.

What fool I.

I give thanks nearly every day that I did get pregnant naturally at 37. Because I wasn’t smart enough to realize how much I wanted my son until we had him, I would not have resorted to fertility treatments. And now I cannot imagine my life without him.

My son loves magic shows, so this Sunday, we are taking him to see David Copperfield in Boston. Watching him have fun will be the best Mother’s Day present I could have.

And if there’s a real present too? Wonderful, but just the icing on the cake of spending a day with my guys.

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Mother’s Day is an important holiday for me because it gives me a chance to tell my mother how much I love and appreciate her. There are really no words to express how much her love and support have meant to me all my life. I would not be the person I am today without the solid foundation she provided for me and my brother.

So, thanks, mum.

After all, who else would come with me on Saturday when I take four eight-year olds to see Speed Racer? No one else — not my brother, not my husband. Just my mum.

Here she is, introducing Douglas to RoadRunner last weekend. I figure she won’t mind this photo, being that it is of her best side and all. 🙂

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Finally, a few words for some lovely mom bloggers who are expecting their second child this month. I’m a little late to the virtual shower for Her Bad Mother, Mrs. Chicky, and Mrs. Chicken but never mind.

I only have Douglas, so I can’t comment on what it’s like to add the second child to the mix from the parent’s perspective. I am however the oldest, by 2.5 years, of two, and my brother has always been one of my best friends. Even when we argued, we would abandon our fight the minute someone else picked on the other. Sometimes I am sorry that we didn’t have a full sibling for my son, so he could have this experience, but he does have his older sister, my husband’s adult daughter.

My advice for you: just keep trusting yourself. Your instincts about the right things to do for your children will always be better than any advice on parenting from someone else. Because every situation is different. That’s not to say that advice isn’t good or welcome. But in the end, trust yourself.

Because mother really does know best.

Happy Mother’s Day.

[tags] Mother’s Day, Parent Bloggers Network, Johnson’s Baby Cause [/tags]