Low expectations
When the children were young, there was always an anticipation on Mother's Day; the expectation of some artistic triumph from Nursery or Playgroup that they would be bursting to give me at some ungodly hour on the big day. It was a delightful early morning call and one which I feared would not be facing me this year. It did make me feel sad to think that the days of "I love you Mummy" cards might be over.
And so the Morning Dawned......
No cuddles, no one in my bed rushing to give me homemade presents, Nick and I carried on our usual morning chores and greeted the guests for the first feed run of the week. I have to hand it to them as it was bitterly cold and we have some very young little helpers this week but they made it right round all the animals. I sloped off to enjoy a run on my own as my Mother's Day treat to myself arriving back just in time to see them all finishing up at the rabbits.
A Surprise Waiting
I came back into the garden with Nick to a wonderful selection of flowers from the farm and tulips from Clio (Thank you Brownies).
When I stepped inside my kitchen was spotless and a big fry up was well underway. Fruit and yogurt might have been healthier after my run, but hey, I have a house of boys and it is not their idea of a treat! My eldest was the leader in this military operation and I was quite overwhelmed, the only "clutter" on my kitchen Island was the site of cards from the children. I could have cried with happiness.
I have to admit after my run I was delighted to be tucking into bacon, sausage and eggs and steaming hot coffee. I must have been totally taken by surprise as I didn't think to grab the camera to show off their culinary skills before tucking in. They even washed up for me.
A laugh a minute
On a roll now with their Mother's Day surprises the younger children were in and out of the house all afternoon buzzing back and forth. More flowers arrived and then a note, how could I refuse?
Nick and I both took our seats for the promised performance, I caught the amateur production on video and while I'm sure they are some way off a Punch and Judy performance to entertain the guests, it certainly tickled Nick and me. The unpolished nature of the performance and 3 restarts somehow added to the fun! Please don't expect to follow the plot, they assure me there was one but it's not easy to follow!
If you were wondering where my middle boys were, they were taking a very low profile following an all night 12 mile hike with Scouts which finished at the hut in sleeping bags the early hours of the morning. After being dropped home they spent the best part of Mother's Day skulking round with sunken red eyes and grunting at anyone who passed them! They did however appear to brighten up for dinner wolfing down my Gammon in Cider as if they hadn't seen food for a month!
For me it was a pretty perfect Mother's Day. I even gave into the pressure of watching Top Gear with them all snuggled up on the sofas, which was actually funnier than I had imagined. May be next year will the dreaded one where my children feel to big too bother with the little surprises? I do hope not.
I have seen a few Mother's Day posts around so I am making this a blog hop to bring them together. Please grab this code if you would like to add the blog hop to your post, or alternatively just link up here.