Mother's Day, Pas Deux

So, Mother's day was 3 weeks ago. I am finally composed enought to write about it.

I called my Mom on Sunday. We talked about an hour. About nothing, really.
Shortly before hanging up, she remembered that Tuesday was my birthday. SHe apologized for not posting my card yet. But, she would do it on Monday.

I got her a cell phone for Mom's day. It is her first. I sent it early, so she would have it. It is bright red. I wanted her to be able to find it easy. It is also one of those slider phones with a qwerty keyboard for texting. She is73. She took it with her to my sister's house for Mom's day dinner. My neice ,Val, tried to help her learn how to text.

Let's just say I don't expect a text anytime soon. The whole idea behind the phone is so we can contact her when she is out running around. My sister, Debi, takes her to Walmart for groceries and gets tired of waiting on her, so they separate to grocery shop. Having the phone will make it much easier for them to find each other.

Back to my Mother's Day.

My Hubs first words to me were "Happy Mother's Day! I Love You!" There was no card or gift, but he got me an extra candy bar from church. That's what our church does. We receive candy bars on Mother's Day. A few years ago, the ladies decided not to waste church money on cut flowers. For a few years we received flowers to plant in our gardens. Well, you can't make everyone happy with the selection and some people just don't want to have to plant them! We decided we would rather just have candy... chocolate candy. So, we get a choice of candy bars. There are always a few extra, so Hubs snagged one for me! It is the thought that counts.

My ex-husband, father of children, sent me a text. It was a picture of a gorgeous bouquet of red roses and wishes for a Happy Mother's Day. It cost him nothing except a few moments to hunt up a picture and type a few words. It truely is the thought that counts.

My sisters, neices, and a few cousins, and I all wished each other Happy Mother's Day on Facebook. There is no way we could have each reached everyone the same day any other way. It is the thought that counts.

Mother's Day

So, on Facebook everyone is changing their profile pictures to pics of their Mom. i changed mine to a picture of my mom from when she was visiting last year.
My youngest daughter changed hers to a picture of Cindy, her step-mom.

I am crestfallen.

I am a mother of 3 children and yet I have none.

My oldest, Anna, has 3 children of her own now. The last time I saw the boys, the youngest was about 3 1/2 months old. I met the girl when she was 1 day old. I've not seen her since. This was also the last time I saw her mother. I last spoke to her on May 27, 2010. I do not have her phone number and I do not know her address. I'm not using the grandchildren's names on purpose. It's not my place to publish them without the permission of their parents. In other words, I'm not allowed. I've few pictures of the children. Again, I'm not allowed.

My son, Raymond, lives across town at his father's. I last saw him on May 31, 2010. He came over for my Memorial Day cookout. I do not have his cell phone number and I cannot visit him at his father's house. I can occasionally call him on the house phone. If he is not home, he won't get the message I called.

My youngest daughter, Jaime, also lives her father's. She occasionally calls and asks if I will give her a awake up call in the morning. I occasionally call her to say hi. We comment on each other's Facebook sometimes. I'll text her sometimes to check on her, since texting is less invasive than a phone call. She can reply when / if she wants. After the tornadoes, I checked on her by text. I also was able to find out her brother and sister were ok by texting her. I've not seen her since last Memorial Day.

I specifically invited the kid's over for New Year's Day dinner. I've given up on Thanksgiving and Christmas, because they want to be with their dad's family then. New Year's is supposed to be my day. I thought this was a more than fair compromise. This is the day I would have my Christmas with the kids. They were too busy. I cooked a huge dinner. I waited all day long and no one showed up.

I call them on their birthdays. I have every year if I've had a phone number to call them at. They don't always answer, since they are not always at home. And I leave a message, but somehow they don't get it. It disappears from the answering machine...

Anyhow, it is coming on Mother's Day on Sunday the 8th and my birthday on Tuesday the 9th.

I'll call my mom, but no one will call me. Not even on my birthday...