Momma and Me...

Life changes bring relationship changes. The most noticeable of these relationship changes is between my mother and me. In recent years we have grown closer. She was my number one fan until I got married (I didn't think it humanly possible, but my husband beams more than my mother when I speak/preach/do something amazing). But still, not only do we connect as women, but with my recent status change, we relate as wives. We have more in common than we had ever imagined.

On Friday, after a long day (and week) at work, my mother took trains, planes, and automobiles (ok, really cars, two trains, and a taxis) and made her way from Mount Vernon to Edison. I picked her up from the Edison train station just an hour before she was to turn into a pumpkin, but she and I were both hungry, so we went to dinner at the Olive Garden. We ate well, except my gross entree. After dinner we drove back to my new home. I gave mom a tour and then we sat up, watched television, talked, and laughed until the hubby got home from work. Mom stayed up a bit longer to chat, but at this hour it was possible she was going to turn into pumpkin pie.

Hence, on Saturday mom slept late. She both needed it and deserved it. When she finally woke up, we had coffee talk, got dressed, and got started on our day. We had a plan...shopping, massages, manicures, pedicures, and dinner with the hubby. There was no time to waste!

I will spare you the FABULOUS details of our day. But I will share with you a special moment between mom and I. We had just pulled out of our complex. As we were driving it was quiet for a moment when mom, with a sweet smile on her face, said, "Can you believe that I am here visiting you at your house?" I can imagine that in her mind, she had traveled back some 34 years to that day when I was born. She was holding me in her arms. She was looking into my eyes. She was praying to God that her daughter would have a beautiful life. And here she was, some years later, seeing and experiencing what she had prayed for.

It is amazing the way that relationships change and grow. Though there are days when I wish I could go back to the days when stress was not part of my vocabulary, I am grateful for the many days when the beauty and wisdom of maturity is evident. I can recall a time when my relationship with my mother was turbulent, at best (the combination of teenaged girl and menopausal mother don't mix well). But now, I am grateful for my mother—the woman, the wife, my friend.