Some Mother's Day

There's more than one mom, and more than just me, that isn't having the Mother's Day of her dreams this weekend and my prayers and my heart is with them:

LG - Her baby girl was born at 3+ lbs. this week and is in Stanford NICU. Her pregnancy always bore this risk, she was on bedrest in the last couple of weeks, and was induced with the hope that the baby would grow better outside than inside (placenta not working well?). I can't imagine what she is going through, especially with 2 under 3 already. I pray that she and her husband can keep their strong hope in God's plan and that baby e will grow well, especially her chest to support her lungs.

ES - Her younger one went to the ER this week for blood in his vomit and stool (dad and older brother also had a flu last week). But this 18 month old is already struggling with eating/swallowing issues and now they are monitoring him to see if his esophagus is healing or if this might be a telescoping intestinal issue. E has already gone through so much with him and with their first kid when he was an infant. I just pray that d's issues is "just" the esophagus and doesn't require surgery. And that this would be the last of the kid issues for E, at least for a while.

Denise - My sister in law was having "a day" yesterday, which Tom's brother feeling symptoms that reeked of recurring Lyme from last year. Seems like Dennis' weird illnesses seem to always surface just before Mother's Day. I pray that it isn't Lyme (which now it seems like it's not because his fever subsided and has a runny nose; never been happier to have the flu) and that she can have a "normal" happy Mother's Day for once!

Me - I am "the least" of the moms mentioned here but this Mother's Day is not as carefree as I would hope. I feel like if anyone else pukes again, I might just lose it. I know Tobey and Eli can't puke forever, but seeing Tobey totally lethargic or feeling Eli's ribs any more pronounced will just make the light at the end of the tunnel feel that much further away. I pray the puking is over, that attempts to progress them up the "food chart" would succeed and that we are all back to health by the end of next week. And I pray that Tom stays healthy because he's the only one kind of holding us all up around here.

And finally, for my mom, who persevered through obstacles to make plans to come here this weekend and comes with willingness to help us in our sickness, this on her first Mother's Day without her mom. Once a mom, always a mom.

I leave you with the poem in Denise's Mother's Day card to me which I found actually relevant and not just some cheesy "Mother's are your best friends forever" kind of schmaltzy poem:

Every day,
Mothers are called upon
to make
something from nothing,
smiles from tears,
or order from total chaos
and patiently,
creatively,
they succeed.

Happy Mother's Day to all of you too!