To spend Mother's Day at an amusement park makes the most sense to me. Because isn't that what motherhood is, really? The ultimate adventure in fun, in terror and exhilaration? My best and worst moments have been lived as a mother. My greatest hopes and fears rest in my child. He makes me do things I don't want to do (ride rollercoasters) because he wants to. He makes me hold him tight in the seat because there's no way the man-made restraints can save him like I can. He's bigger than me, smaller than me. He makes me better, he makes me doubt myself. He's my world in an ocean and in the tiniest speck. He's all of me, and I'm all of him, with the best and worst parts in us both.
This story might take a minute to tell. Bear with me. When my sister and I were little girls, my mother took us to a large baptist church in town. Even as a child, I never remember feeling welcome there. But I do remember the lovely older couple that kept my Sunday School class. They gave us saltines and kool-aid, and I remember thinking they would be nice grandparents to have. At Christmastime, the Sunday School class was set to have a random gift exchange. Every child was supposed to bring a gift that could be exchanged with any other child.....no specific gift designations. I received the gift of an Avon 7 bead necklace which was very popular at the time. I loved it so much and was thrilled to have it! I was somewhere between 5 and 7 at the time. (Back in the 1970's and 80's, Avon was a cosmetic company that was also known for it's inexpensive jewelry. I couldn't find a price on what this necklace would have cost back then, but apparently there is ...
