the wisdom, joy, and influence of women or "mothers"

I felt it was time to give my requisite mother's day report about now....

Besides the fact that I had to work for about 9 hours of my mother's day, I had a great day for my 2nd mother's day EVER! Steve made me dinner after I got home from work-- he made me the yummy sesame chicken w/ broccoli from my Weight Watcher's cookbook! Which is my favorite meal.

Before we left for church, Steve gave me the option of receiving my mother's day presents now or after work, and so of course I chose NOW! He got me an awesome pepper shaker to match the salt shaker he got me I think for Valentine's day... It's awesomeness can only be done justice via a picture:
Eliza thinks they're her toys. She doesn't realize that her mother has toys too.

And Steve also gave me one of the best types of gifts which is a FREE one! He had gotten free week-long passes for the mother of all gyms in Charlottesville, ACAC. They're doing some sort of 'Get Fit, America!' program where they lure you in for a week o' fun experiencing their Mommy and Me Yoga classes, State of the art machinery all with personal HD cable TV screens attached, Mommy and Me pool classes, top notch step classes, Family fun pool time in the warm water pools, peaceful sunny decks on the top level to quietly read on after you're grueling workouts... all while they let your kid play in a Kid Zone resembling an organic version of Chuckie Cheese's that doesn't allow any peanut products... So they're pretty much the gym gone to Heaven. And I guess they figure that you won't be able to go back to your mediocre $50 a month Gold's gym contract.

So, yes, I was really excited about that gift and love having Steve come work out (or swim) with me after he gets off of work! and we certainly have been tempted to become life-long members after the free week is up.

However, I feel like I would be saying goodbye to the little community I've come to know the last 8 months since I started going in the mornings to work out 3-4 times a week at Gold's. The childcare workers know Eliza's name and she (sorta) knows them. She at least is familiar with her surroundings there. (Although, they said she didn't cry once while she was at the organic Kid Zone today.)

At ACAC, I don't know any of the instructors or classmates--yet. This first year of life with Eliza has often been a lonely one for me, and the gym really helped me feel a lot less isolated from the outside world-- Grown Up World. So it would be hard to turn my back on them... so we'll see!

I received my final Mother's day present today. Presented to me quite (un)ceremoniously by the UPS guy this afternoon-- which is probably the most awesome present EVER!! Steve honored my request / picked up on my not-so-subtle hinting and SLURPED my Blog into a Blogbook. For those of you less familiar with the blogging world, No, I did not make up that verb. Slurp is the real word describing the loading and formatting of one's blog content into bound, hard copy, book form!

And now I have one. It's neat, and I'm stoked to have it for years and years to come and to be able to show to my grandchildren someday or something. Eliza likes reading it too... since it's mostly pictures of her. It's like an Uber-scrapbook or journal. Steve formatted it to begin with the very first stuff we published on this site last year... and it was sooo neat to look through and remember that Eliza really was a round little, slug-like newborn at one time. I had forgotten what she looked like! So I think it's perfect to have my first year of blogging all stored up in one little blue book. Thanks, STEVE! (and Eliza, I guess). She's the one who's given me most of the material to write about this last year).

So happy Mother's Day all...

BUT WHAT I'D REALLY LIKE TO TALK ABOUT IS...

My first summer back from BYU, my dad (who was a bishopric counselor in my home ward), asked me to speak on Mother's Day, which gave me the opportunity to study the awesome and fascinating talk by Sis. Sheri Dew Are We Not All Mothers?

This is one of my favorite talks of all time:

While we tend to equate motherhood solely with maternity, in the Lord’s language, the word mother has layers of meaning. Of all the words they could have chosen to define her role and her essence, both God the Father and Adam called Eve “the mother of all living”—and they did so before she ever bore a child.

Many days my mothering of Eliza feels tedious and wearisome, but I love considering these words. Before I had Eliza, I always thought I'd be a pretty good mom... and although I consider myself a little above the "not terrible" category, I don't really feel like I'm that good at this mom stuff. My house is rarely clean, for example, our clothes are usually wrinkled, and like this week, I'd much rather read about the heroin Chinese immigrants in my Amy Tan novel than dust the bookshelves or clean my kitchen. (Just so we're clear, I'm not giving up on improving my housekeeping skills, but I'm just hoping there's more significant things on which my eternal exaltation depends...)

So I also deeply appreciate Elder Ballard's words from last month:

There is no one perfect way to be a good mother. Each situation is unique. Each mother has different challenges, different skills and abilities, and certainly different children. The choice is different and unique for each mother and each family. Many [mothers]...may have to work part- or full-time; some may work at home; some may divide their lives into periods of home and family and work. What matters is that a mother loves her children deeply and, in keeping with the devotion she has for God and her husband, prioritizes them above all else.
And, Sis. Dew's concept of "Mother" helps me feel more substantial and valid-- and helps me get through the days of poop-wiping, dish-scrubbing, tear-wiping, and rice-cooking... There is more to this - THANK HEAVENS. There is more purpose to my current existence.

And I believe, like Sheri Dew said, that "all around us are those who need to be loved and led," and that women are fulfilling their "mothering" role through developing their personal capacities to grow in "wisdom, joy, and influence..." and sometimes posterity too.

Which also makes me so grateful for the many examples of this in my life from the women I respect and learn from... my mother, mother-in-law, grandmothers, aunts, sisters, and friends.

This, I suppose, is what the men in the ward who pass out the flowers or roses or what-not on Mother's Day, are trying to express their appreciation for... as awkward and icky as it ends up being.

So Happy Mother's day, women!

My family also had the boon of speaking with Robby ...eer, Elder Meldau, on the phone from Sao Paulo, Brazil!! He's only got a couple of months left on his mission, but we were still thrilled to be able to hear his voice, stories, and spirit come through the phone! My family was able to do a three-way call to me at work... and after a little rearranging of the self-esteem group I was supposed to lead at 1:30, I was able to duck out and enjoy the moment! and I MISS Robby soooo much! It unequivocally was my favorite part of my WHOLE day!!!

And there's only like one month left until our OUTRAGEOUS San Diego trip to visit my Oma on her super-duper 70th bday bash!!! woohoo!!