Mother's Day 2010

If you have not had the chance to watch "The Middle," please do. The show is hilarious. It is a show about a family in Indiana-that's it. They do not live in either NYC or LA, there are no clever neighbors in which they converse with, they do have a fancy home or luxurious lifestyles-they are simply a family getting by. It may not sound like a funny scenario, but their family interactions are so believable, one cannot help but relate to almost every episode.

This past week's episode was one of my favorites. It was about Mother's Day. To sum up 22 minutes of constant laughable scenes, the mom is woken up at 6:30 a.m. on Mother's Day because her teenage children are yelling at each other and breaking things while preparing for her the perfect breakfast in bed. No, it is not edible. Yes, the teenage boy spills it all over her. Her breakfast is complete with her husband leaving her to bond with her beloved children while he watches Sportscenter in the living room.

After all-it's her day.

Her day continues in the same manner, complete with an inflatable footbath as her gift (the family clearly forgot to buy a gift and it was the only thing they could find at the drug store), no peace while she simply tries to sit and read her People magazine, and her family forgetting her coveted peach pie that she waited all day for.

The best part of the entire episode is the comparing she does with past Father's Day celebrations for her husband. Picture a combination of him sleeping in until 10:30 a.m., a delicious breakfast in bed, a gift of floorboard from the Hoosiers' basketball court, and a day of relaxing while watching sports.

The difference stems from the fact that her Mother's Day comes from the kids and his Father's Day comes from her.

Nick and I could not stop laughing the entire episode.

So, imagine my thoughts when, on this Mother's Day, I was slightly awoken at 6:30 a.m. (I am not kidding) to Abby's whispers to her dad. They quietly left and I knew what was going on. I did my best fake sleep as they came back 30 minutes later with homemade cards and my lovely breakfast in bed. Thankfully, Nick made it so it was edible, and the only spilling was a little bit of juice when Caleb decided to start jumping on the bed.

I went downstairs to find a balloon, flowers and a People magazine on the table.

My husband is the best.

Now, this is where I am such a bad mom. I was not entirely sad that both kids were still not feeling well and had to miss church because I got to go without any distractions and enjoy my drive in the car without constant chattering. It secretly added some bliss to know that Nick had to deal with two sick kids all morning-why is that? Is it wrong that my Mother's Day was nice because my husband had to do the work? Yes, I am a terrible person.

Anyway, I got home just in time to see Nick finishing giving them a bath and putting them down for a nap. He's awesome. We enjoyed an afternoon of catching up on our shows and then had a nice dinner out with family. If Caleb could have managed to be good all day instead of the terror that he was, the day would have been perfect.

Now, as I go back to a day of laundry, dishes, cooking and the rest of my responsibilities, I am thankful for my day of feeling appreciated. That really is all we moms want for Mother's Day-to feel like what we do is noticed. My daughter coming up with the idea of breakfast in bed all by herself was better than all the gifts in the world that she could have bought me.

And to my own mother, who I could not see on Mother's Day, you are very much valued, loved and appreciated. I may not express it enough, but you taught me what it is to be a good mom and I love you very much.