A Child's Gift

I prefer the signs of affection my family shows throughout the year to Hallmark holidays like Valentine's and Mother's Day.  The sentiments are given freely and more meaningful than cards.  This Mother's Day, though, was different.

My third son woke me up Saturday morning to give me his gift.  Whether he didn't know the holiday was Sunday or couldn't wait that long, it didn't matter.  He was ready to share his hand painted tile.  It came wrapped in tissue paper with the inscription, 'You're the best mommy ever'.

"I used every color available," he said proudly.  It was a nice way to wake up.

When Sunday came it didn't seem like a holiday.  It was business as usual - Sunday school, a birthday party and a baseball game.  I was exhausted and limped along, barely functioning.  So it was Monday when I returned to my desk and saw the pile of unopened affection the boys had given to me after school on Friday with the admonition I had to wait until Mother's Day.

I opened the cards one by one.  When I came to my second son's I stopped.  He had written a poem:

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My mom is like a highlighter

Who highlights all the good things on a bad day

Her marker never runs out of ink

And she listens to every thing I say!

My mom is like a bird

Who soars above the clouds

She lets me stay outside 'til six

Then go back inside the house.

My mom is like a flower

Whose petals never drop

Then another flower blooms

Now her love for me won't stop!

I was moved by the genuine expression of love, impressed by his use of metaphor and proud of a propensity for writing I didn't know he had.  He had given me the best gift of all - the recognition that children and their affection are gifts in their own right.