Mother's Day - Day of the Apocalypse

Mother's Day.  The day all infertile women HATE!  The day we feel our world might end.  But then again, sometimes it comes and goes, and it wasn't nearly as bad as you thought it was going to be.  Such was the case last year.  I felt silly building it up in my mind as the worst day of the year.  But no one said anything insensitive, there was no "Let's have the mothers stand for a handclap" (gotta love that one...sitting there in your chair with all the men and teenage girls), really, there was nothing to feel upset about.  I wished my mother a happy day, gave her a hug, and kept an easy smile on my face.  No problems, no break-downs, no tears.  Nadda.

So this year I was prepared to have a wonderfully non-eventful day.  It certainly wasn't the worst Mother's Day I've ever had, but I had to keep one of those fakey smiles plastered on my face until almost 3:00 pm.  Excruciating!  Here's what I love, people:

I really love scriptures about barren women being read on Mother's Day.

I really love at least one person saying "Happy Mother's Day" to me, and then realizing they shouldn't have said it.  (The guilt-stricken look on their face is priceless.)

I really, REALLY love having a plant shoved in my face by a poor child who is just on a mission from an adult to "Give Sister Jill this <insert plant, flower, pin, card, or any other gift word here>."

I love going to a restaurant and getting a Mother's Day gift, graciously turning it down (because, NEWS FLASH, I'm not a mother!), and my husband piping up beside me, "Oh, take it!  I'll use it."  (Handsoap; the statement I was trying to make meant nothing- no waitress learned a sensitivity lesson- all because my husband is too cheap to buy an extra handsoap for non-mothers!  As Teri has told me, it's not my job to teach anyone a lesson.  I find this is a hard pill to swallow.)

I love that no one, not even my husband, gets that this is a hard day for me.  Well, Jeni and Teri are sensitive to it.

Mother's Day is SOOOOO not about me.  It's the opposite of about me.  So why do I feel like it is?  Am I that big of an ego maniac?

Here's what I honestly love about Mother's Day:

I love that I'm an auntie to one sweet little girl!

I love that last year my father-in-law wished me Happy Mother's Day and said, "You take care of the biggest baby I know, so you're qualified."  So it may not have been a perfect statement, but it made me laugh, and it was acknowledged.

I love...nix that.  I can't think of anything else I love about it.

I would like to remind everyone that no childless woman wants a gift on this day.  Leave her alone.  If she has a child, those potted plants will make her smile.  If she doesn't, don't!  Refrain!  Just think, "Am I doing this to make her feel better, or to make myself feel better?"  Remember every childless woman on this day thinks everyone is staring at her to see her reaction, even if they aren't.  Remember no matter what you say, it might not be the right thing, but even then remeber...

We love you, too, and are trying to keep a good attitude.  We're trying.