Perfect

I celebrated Mother's Day a day early, since this was when K could be with us. Without a doubt, I had a perfect day.

I got to take a leisurely run outside, followed by a nice long phone conversation with my brother while the girls washed my car. Seriously. J sprayed and scrubbed (as high as she could reach, anyway), and K got the rest, even vacuuming out the interior. Then JBL served me lunch with a cold glass of chardonnay, and sent me up to shower while he got the girls packed up in the car.

We headed down to the mall (I must say, I was initially disappointed, as I am not a shopper and generally despise the mall on weekends), but JBL walked us up to the appliance area at Sears and ordered me a new Bosch dishwasher. Sound like a terrible gift, a la a new toaster? It's not. Our current dishwasher has been the bane of my existence for years, so to finally get a fancy, roomy, functional, quiet dishwasher is wonderful. It's something I certainly would never have splurged on (and besides, I already have diamond earrings). The stop at Maggie Moo's afterwards wasn't bad either.

Then we headed down to Annapolis for some strolling, shopping and gnoshing. The girls had a phenominal time, taking in the historic scene, the sailboats, the people walking their dogs all over town, and the cute shops. We finished the evening at a crab and ribs joint. When we finally had dinner placed before us, J finally fell apart from the excitement of the day. JBL promptly put down his crab mallet and scooped her up in his arms, calming her tears then cajolling her back to smiles and laughter while I finished eating.

The drive home was lit by an amazing sunset. After the girls tore through packed Pez dispensers (thanks again, JBL), the car fell silent as we sped back to Sleepy Hollow.

When I come up with things to be thankful for, I always immediately think of my husband and the girls, and yesterday was no exception. What I appreciated most, though, was the easy love the girls doled out generously on me all day, and the silent support offered by JBL. As with all our vacations, yesterday was a day when I worried neither about money, nor what time it was. It was fantastic.

So here's to Mother's Day - and all the love in our lives that makes it possible. Amen.