Mother

Happy mother's day to all of you, but especially to my sisters, and especially of all to Heather. I want to share my favorite story about Heather as a mom; sorry if you've heard it before.

When she was pregnant with Ella, her first ultrasound discovered that she had a condition which placed her at high risk of premature delivery. Unfortunately by that point, the only option was for her to be on strict bed-rest, so she spent the last three months of the pregnancy lying in a hospital bed, only getting up to use the bathroom or having a once-a-week shower.

I spent as much time at the hospital as I could - but I found it to be pretty tough... for ME. After a few hours of visiting, I always felt like I had to get up and walk around, or just go do something else. What's more, Heather's condition didn't cause her to feel sick or anything like that; she felt perfectly normal. There was nothing keeping her in bed - except for some maternal instinct which drove her to do whatever was necessary to give her baby the best chances of being healthy.

In those days, Heather worried a lot about whether or not she would be a good mom. During that time, I watched her and I watched the ladies she shared a room with, some of whom not only ignored their mandated bed-rest, but were getting up frequently for cigarette breaks. I knew even then that Heather was not only a good mom, she was the sort of mom that would always stand out as being exceptional, even amongst the most noble of her kind.

Ella made it to 34 weeks and weighed a healthy 4lbs 12oz, and I just glanced at the photo preceding this post, and was struck again at what a miracle she was. Those three months were the hardest thing I have ever seen someone do, and I am in awe of the fact that she did it for someone whom she had not even met.

I took a quick picture of Heather when we got home from church today. The appreciation that she showed for the necklace Mason made for her is actually a succinct statement about what it means to be a mom. There's no other sort of person who could place as much value on a strand of macaroni as on a strand of hanadama.

Thank you sweetheart for sacrificing those three months for Ella.
And for sacrificing these past 10 years for all of us.

Love you,

- C



ps - here is a line of dialogue from supper just now. It fits with the subject of motherhood.

Heather (explaining the new recipe): "It's called 'Chicken Divine'; it's something Uncle Kendall's mom used to make for him."

Tyson: "Uncle Kendall's mom? Auntie Jewel?"

Me: "No, Auntie Jewel isn't really Uncle Kendall's mom... she just acts like it."