Hello and Good-Bye

Before we get too far away from Mother's Day....

Lucky me, I got to start the day with Nicholas because he was with me for a Saturday overnight. We awakened to a glorious, sunny day on Sunday and he asked, "G'ma, can we go out into the woods?"

You don't have to ask me twice! As I see him sitting in this new fallen tree (the old one was cut down), I see how much he has grown since our early days traipsing around. The traditions remain, like taking the blanket for lying down to just listen to the sounds...and sharing apple slices for our snack.

These are eternalized moments for me. As we were meandering around and exploring, looking for wild berries and burls, it dawned on me that this could very well be our last outing in the woods here. The house has not yet sold but it could be any day now.

So we talked about how special this place has been over the years and how many friends we have made. We never needed to name the trees (as my mom used to do at the family cottage). We just called them Friends.

What I will never forget more than anything is how Nicholas would find the tiniest of treasures and say "G'ma, take a picture of this!" It's like he, too, wanted to "eternalize" the moment.



It did come time to say Good-Bye. And we did. Funny thing is we weren't even that sad. We both just took it in stride and said "Thank You, Trees. Thank you, Friends."

Nicholas will be 9 in July. I'll be 64 in June. No matter what age, we criss-cross paths of comings and goings, of Hellos and Good-Byes. Passages of time. Moments of moving on.

And that particular moment we DID move on...to Amy's house to celebrate a fabulous day of "eternalized moments" with the larger family. Dennis had just arrived from LA on Friday to STAY...a one-way ticket! Before they celebrate their one-year anniversary on June 1, he is now here to live! Mark was with us, too, for cards and an incredible dinner cooked by Dennis and Nicholas. It was quite a memorable Mother's Day for me.

No sooner do we say Good-Bye to some friends, we get to say Hello to others. Good-Bye, woods. Welcome to Atlanta, Dennis. And Happy Mother's Day! I hope YOU had a great day, too.

Happy Mother's Day

First and foremost, this is for Amy, my daughter! Since my own mom, her g'ma, is no longer here to celebrate, except in our hearts, Amy is now the mother "du jour" for me. From one generation to the next!

As you know, Amy was gone all last week on a business trip and I got to be "mother/g'ma" to Nicholas for a week. Donica also was gone and this is what they missed:

The Secret Garden, by Nicholas (1st grade), 2007

Remember Monet's Garden last year when Nicholas picked up his work of art? This is his happy, proud smile of accomplishment this year. It almost looks like the same smile!

When Dennis was here a week ago, he helped Nicholas get his bike-riding bearings. This time I had my own chance to watch and take pics. Amy, you can be proud of your boy. He's growing up!

Because Donica flies back to Europe today (after being home 2 days!), we're celebrating Mother's Day with her mom on our way to the airport. (I'll follow suit, flying to Amsterdam tomorrow.)

That meant we celebrated the special day yesterday with Amy and Nicholas, right after his T-ball game.

Mother "du jour" with Proud Son!

BTW, when Amy arrived home Friday night from her week away, Nicholas was already in bed. As I helped her carry her suitcase upstairs, we both stopped dead in our tracks when we saw this note propped up on one of the steps:

Nicholas later told Amy that totally unbenownst to me, he had gotten up very quietly after I kissed him Good Night and wrote this note in the upstairs hallway. "And it wasn't very light. I could hardly see!" He was afraid to let G'ma know he was up.

OMG, Amy! I have told you this before and I will tell you again, you have been a model mother and mentor of my grandson. I marvel at you as a single mom and I learn from you. I can't pay you a higher compliment than to say I wouldn't want anyone else to be his mom!

And now for the rest of us, may we be so dearly loved and respected on this day of celebration. We all came from a mother somewhere. We all have a lot to be thankful for.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

I'll talk to you next on the other side of the pond!