Mother's day thoughts

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there, particularly two special moms/grandmas I can think of!

We are having a very low-key Mother's Day at our house, since Zach has hand, foot, and mouth disease. I remember years ago when one of our nieces had it, we thought it was something only animals got! Now we know that it is relatively common with kids, and in fact seems to be making the rounds in Woodbury. If you aren't familiar, here's a basic description:

Hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) is a common viral illness of infants and children. The disease causes fever and blister-like eruptions in the mouth and/or a skin rash. HFMD is often confused with foot-and-mouth (also called hoof-and-mouth) disease, a disease of cattle, sheep, and swine; however, the two diseases are not related—they are caused by different viruses. The disease usually begins with a fever, poor appetite, malaise (feeling vaguely unwell), and often with a sore throat. One or 2 days after fever onset, painful sores usually develop in the mouth. They begin as small red spots that blister and then often become ulcers. The sores are usually located on the tongue, gums, and inside of the cheeks.

So our poor little guy isn't a happy camper. The fever showed up on Thursday, but he didn't seem very unhappy or uncomfortable until yesterday, and after getting the diagnosis, now we know why - we actually saw the blisters in his mouth. So we're treating him with lots of fluids, ice cream and hugs, and some ibuprofen when needed.

The other night Zach woke up in the middle of the night pretty unhappy, so I sat and rocked him for a bit until he was ready to go back to bed. And as I sat there, holding him in my lap on the same glider I used to nurse him in, I was quite amazed at how he didn't really fit on my lap anymore. And while I didn't really want to be awake at 1:30 in the morning, I reminded myself that it won't be long before Zach doesn't even want to snuggle with me in his glider anymore. So I stayed a little longer.

My mind also wandered, as it has many times before, to thinking about how my own mom likely sat holding me on nights like that, comforting me until I could go back to sleep. It's one of those moments that you realize you can never really express your appreciation of everything your mom has done for you in your life. Not only because you don't remember all the little moments that matter so much, but because how could you possibly say a big enough thank you???

I decided the best way to show how thankful you are for every little thing your mom did for you is to turn around and try to be the best mom you can to your own kids. And that maybe, by striving to live up to that high bar, your mom will know that you finally have some sort of understanding of what it means to be a mom. And that you will be eternally grateful.