Mom, Part II

Yes, this post is a day after Mother's Day.  But last year, my mom didn't read my Mother's Day post until the day after, so my timing this year is just another way to honor her*.

Now that Gabe is almost 19 months old, my understanding of motherhood has increased to a whopping 1.98%**.  In fact, I think I can actually round it to 2% since I'm pregnant, and have that added understanding!  With this dramatic increase of knowledge (last year my understanding was only calculating to .7%) comes some new thank you's for my mom:

Thank you for every minute of sleep you gave up for me after I started sleeping through the night but then would randomly wake up and it was even harder for you to get up because you were out of practice since I wasn't a newborn anymore.  Thank you for every step you helped me take and for the steps you let me take on my own while you held your breath, worried I would fall but knowing that you needed to let me try on my own.  Thank you for your patience when I wouldn't eat my vegetables, liked something one day but not the next, and threw food/cups/spoons/bowls on the floor again and again and again.  Thank you for every time I'm sure you wanted to yell "STOP THROWING YOUR FOOD ON THE FLOOR" and instead calmly said "Don't throw your food, please".  Thank you for every time you pushed through pregnancy-induced tiredness or discomfort to pay attention to what I needed from you.  Thank you for taking me outside and making a simple walk into a great adventure.  Thank you for always giving me hugs and cuddles.  Thank you for every simple task you wanted to get done that turned into a lengthy one because you let me be independent and walk instead of carrying me, or do something myself instead of doing it for me.  Thank you for reading with me and helping me learn words.  Thank you for praising my accomplishments and providing correction when I needed to learn boundaries.  Thank you for enduring my "terrible twos" with grace, love, patience, and keeping in mind the joy that remains even when a toddler is constantly testing limits.

Mom, thank you as always for watching Gabe for us.  I hope I say it enough so that you know how much it means to us - not just because it's a huge financial blessing, but because it's an incredible feeling of relief to be able to so completely trust the person caring for your child.  And I hope you also know that I'm not just saying that in an effort to butter you up so that you'll keep watching Gabe and Baby #2 in the future (even though I've never kept that desire a secret - remember what I always say, it's only 6 years of your life!  And just think of how boring it would be if you only got to do your own thing every day, instead of having to chase a toddler around!)...for as long as it works out, we are ever grateful for the gift of your time and energy in caring for our child(ren).****

Happy Mother's Day Mom, I love you!

* ok, so that's a total line of bull.  I just didn't sit myself down at my computer yesterday to write this post.
** Assuming my lifespan is 75 years, and I had Gabe at 35 years old, I will have 40 years alive with Gabe (hopefully more, but I'm explaining my math in this asterisk footnote, so let's not get off track).  That's 480 months, and if we assume the average of 2 kids per person that has kids, that's 960 months***.  19 months out of 960 total months is 1.98%
*** Understood that evenly doubling the months isn't accurate, since that assumes that the 2 kids are born at the same time.
**** Was it presumptious to throw the plural in there?  Hmm...