A Very Vegetal Mother's Day

I had many surprises on Mother's Day. The first was actually the day before Mother's Day. A. had brought most of the children to fish at a lake about an hour away. As they were driving through town to the lake, they came upon a small backyard plant nursery and, of course, stopped in. 

So when they got home, I was brought outside to see the "magnificent Mother's Day present" they had bought me.

Behold, the Pink Peace rose bathed in celestial glory.

A. was very excited by this rose because he had just the day before created a new garden bed outside our front door. Knowing we have a lot of bulbs that need to be separated and re-planted in the fall, I chose a spot for a new bed and A. outlined it with rock, dug it all out, and added many wheelbarrow-loads of manure from the horse pen.

The new garden bed is flanked by two posts, so A. wanted to get a wisteria--a climbing vine--for one post and a climbing rose for the other. This is why he considered it divine intervention that the very day after he had made this flower bed for which we had no flowers, he literally just happened upon a nursery that had a giant climbing rose for sale.

Coming soon to the other post: wisteria.

It was very appropriate that A. should bring me home a giant live plant rather than a dozen roses from a store or something. He knows me well. As does the son who brought these flowers home for me.

It's wildflower season, hooray.

And the daughter who made me this:

Also salad season, more hooray.

Poppy always (since last year) has made me what she calls my "summer salad." She forages in the garden for the ingredients, then makes ranch dressing for it. Last year's first attempt at making the dressing--which must be done in secret, so she's totally on her own--was pretty good, although she forgot the garlic powder and mayonnaise. This year she remembered all of that, and then she found lettuce, asparagus, a radish, and some green onion in the garden. She also added some grape tomatoes that were not from the garden.

This was my morning salad. I got another one in the afternoon, along with other gifts. The younger children got all whispery and secretive, insisting that I not come in the kitchen, so I knew something was up. After a few minutes, they called me in to this:

A Mother's Day table.

Another salad contributed by Poppy, who also made that drawing, plus a little bowl made by the youngest boy--that's the little object above the salad--and a frame of flowers courtesy of the older boy. I was very touched.

I was also impressed by Poppy's drawing after she showed me its secret.

Backlighting reveals hidden hearts.

I'm not sure how she discovered that trick, but I thought it was pretty cool.

I was also the recipient of a motivational bracelet that was given to the middle son during basketball last year. I guess he figured I could use the motivation more than him now.

A good reminder.

The best part of this day was that my family knows what I like--plants and salad, obviously--and gave it to me. Feeling seen and known is an important part of feeling loved, and that is exactly what they did.