For the moms... and this mom-to-be

Yesterday was Mother's Day, as you all know. It's usually a difficult day for me, as I mourn the profound absence of my mom and ponder what I could or would do for her to make her day special.

This year, the day was much more special, however.

You see, in a few months, I'll be a Mommy/Momma/Mom/plain old mother. I already feel like one, though, and really, I have since that positive pregnancy test in early December.

A lot of people helped make this weekend special, even though I had to work!

There were the two Mother's Day cards -- my first ones! One was from my Aunt Dot and one was from a family friend. Both of them made me feel so lucky and giddy. They've been prominently displayed in our dining room for everyone to see.

Then on Saturday, I received a package. Not just any package. A bouquet of my favorite flowers -- hydrangeas -- in a cute basket holder from my Godmother, the lovely Aunt Alice.

But then, the moment that finally caused the hormone-driven teardrops.
I came home at almost midnight after working a long day Saturday and had a card waiting for me on the dining room table. My husband was pacing impatiently because since it was a mommy-to-be card, it had to be opened on Mother's-Day-to-be, which was ticking by as I emptied my lunch bag, organized my notebook and papers and started some dishes.

The card was pretty and lovely, and signed from my hubby -- and Zachary, my darling little man who I can't wait to meet, and who has honored me with the title I am most proud of -- mommy-to-be. :-)

There are a lot of special 'moms' in my life.

There are the friends who are moms themselves, who take the time to answer my new-to-this-experience questions, help me register and let me giggle with their beautiful babies. I love you.

There are the friends who aren't yet mommies, but understand what a mom means to me and what being a mom means to me. I love you.

There is the woman who told me that pregnancy was the most beautiful time of her life. I love her.

There is the woman who never had her own children, but has touched the lives of many two and four-legged creatures that are better for having her in their lives.

There is the woman who has adopted me as her own, treating me to lunches and girls' nights out, letting me cry, ramble and complain -- even about her own son!

Then there is the woman whose presence I haven't felt in years, yet suddenly I feel her nearly every time I enter our baby's room, like a cool, comforting breeze that lets you know it will be OK. There's an ultrasound photo on her grave and I'm sure a piece of her, whether it be her laugh or passion or mysterious grey eyes already in my son.

I don't know what sort of mother I'll be, but I certainly have had a lot of great influences. And I can not wait to hold my son and tell him how much he's already loved.