Y Tu Mama Tambien

This is not my first mother's day. I was pregnant at this time last year but did not yet know it. Or perhaps in my heart, I already did. A week later, I would board that airplane from Columbus, Ohio to Boston, Mass. and as the story goes, I would feel the turbulence within before the plane had even left the runway.... This is not my first mother's day. But it is the first one in which I will wake to the cries of a ruddy-faced infant who will immediately recognize me as I hover over her crib, as I do every morning. She will recognize me, perhaps as nothing more than the dairy queen who speaks in high octaves and who seems to keep within a three foot radius from her at all times. She does not know that I carried her for ten months and have the stretch marks to prove it. She has no memory of the time we got stuck in a snow storm for seven hours in a car and all we subsisted on was a power bar and water and my running commentary to the nutjob Santa on the radio. She does not know that she has exceeded my every expectation of what a small whirring suck monkey could do, and that's make the world a better place to live. Or maybe in her heart, she already does.

This message is not political, it is not pro-choice or Republican or green. It is pro-miracle. I don't know how God could think to create life out of the love of two people, to make it possible for one human bean to incubate a smaller human bean, to lodge that growing life just below the beating heart, so that as the wee form moves face down like a trapeze artist, she hears the steady pumping of her mother's heart bom-boom bom-boom bom-boom, I am here, I love you, you are mine.

This Mother's Day, I will wake to the sounds of tears, followed by a sweet voice from beside me, "You got her? You sure?" I will be sandwiched by two of my favorite people on the planet. If you listen close, can you hear our heart?

Playgroupin'

Thanks for commenting and e-mailing all of the wonderfully insightful praises for your parents' efforts. I so much enjoyed reading them. Turns out you liked that your parents fed you, didn't ignore you, and cracked you over the rump with a wooden spoon. Thanks, Mom and Dad! ***

So before I tell you where the chile and I went today, let me first state that I am aware of the SUCKER on my forehead. We had a grand morning at the World's Biggest Playgroup. Where? At the mall where I recently had a momentous monk sighting. I totally know. Let's corral all the moms of infants and tots in the greater Boston area under the guise of a playgroup on a rainy day into the center of a mall where their little suck monkeys will all inevitably have to be changed and where do you change a suck monkey in a mall? But of course in the department store restroom. Think of all the prime product placement we can stage on that stroller path. Skip skip skip to the loo!!

But, would you believe that the organizers were benign enough to put a curtained changing station right there in the middle of the mall!? And don't you know we moms were all lining up to change bums like they were doing free tummy tucks behind those curtains.

The playgroup itself was just adorable. Lots of music and munchkins and a whole spread of carpet with Boppy products. Baby Girl got put in her place by a tot, though. Alexa, who appeared to be 2 years old and large and in charge was not accepting the fact that Baby Girl was sitting pretty in a papasan chair when clearly she was not yet of size. Old Lexi was evidently the boss of me because I yanked Baby Girl from the throne, but then Lex was off telling mall security that the Boppy section was causing a fire hazard. You could totally see her in 16 years giving her RA mad beef about how she had a double that wasn't even as big as the single for the sorority girl down the hall.

The freebie tables were also in full effect and we shameless moms were all over the yogurt and cereal give-a-ways like there were golden tickets tucked within.

But my favorite part was taking the dumpling to get her picture made with Olivia the pig. Madigan looks completely aghast, wearing a onesie that is so not even in season. And me, geeked much?

Three Monther

Twice before we've shown you just exactly how indulgent we are as new parents, hanging on every coo and gigglet (not a complete full belly Muppet mouth laugh, but a mere gigglet), and chronicling it all in our monthly video series. I'll embed the 1 minute and 10 seconds of footage here. If you can't view it, and are taking a break from watching the protein deposits form under your nailbeds, you can go here to view it.