Mother’s Day Highlights 2020

I hope you all had a great weekend!

I’m starting a new week with a grateful heart after an extremely low-key Mother’s Day yesterday. It was my second year celebrating the holiday as a mom, and it just makes everything that much sweeter, being in quarantine or not.

I will never take the role of getting to be a mother for granted, even if it’s challenging to do in the not-so-fun moments. As a lot of you already know, our journey into parenthood did not happen quickly, without infertility struggles and losses, or on our own timing.

Skyler came into this world two years ago, and I am forever feeling blessed to be able to hold him in my arms. He gets more squirmy as the days go by, but he’s also growing into an incredible human that surprises me in the best way every day.

Sky’s personality is through the roof these days, so the best present of all was to be able to snuggle and hold him through his nap yesterday. There was a point where he would only nap on me like this when he was a baby, but those days are very rare and have been over for a while. Chest naps are just the best, right?

As you can imagine, the rest of my day did not include anything over-the-top. In fact, it was a very normal day where we did a lot of the same things that we’ve been doing every day during quarantine.

I was initially bummed that we were in New York, since we’ve spent the last several years in Florida around this time of year to be able to celebrate back-to-back family birthdays and Mother’s Day with my family. Traveling wasn’t an option, but the weather couldn’t have been better for a good mix of indoor and outdoor activities here in Brooklyn.

I woke up to several surprises and had a wonderful day with my boys. And when it all comes down to it, that’s all I really need.

We don’t do cards very often around here. Instead, Skyler (Scott) likes to gather things and make art for me to walk into. This masterpiece displayed things that “I love” and included tampons, q-tips, money, products, cooking spices, crackers, chocolates, and more. Hilarious.

If I can do anything on a day that I’m entitled to several alone hours, it almost always includes a fitness class at a boutique studio, brunch, a nap, and some self care. So, that’s exactly what I asked for and did yesterday — quarantine-style.

I got to sleep until until 8:45am, and it was glorious. Scott went to the store to grab ingredients for breakfast, and Skyler kept busy coloring while I completed a killer fast-paced Pilates strength workout. (Jake Dupree is one of my all-time faves and is entertaining throughout the entire class!)

I got through the thirty minutes, with a struggle, and I almost forgot how challenging small isolating movements can be in the barre and Pilates world. Phew! It was just what I needed and got me sweaty and sore.

Brunch was served as soon as I finished my stretch, and it was a casual floor picnic style with my dudes. We had scrambled eggs, hash, toast, and all the coffee I could ask for.

I took a shower, captured a few photos of Skyler to send our families, and tuned into our online church before Skyler’s afternoon nap. He didn’t stay asleep for long, so I cuddled him and thoroughly enjoyed that chest nap mentioned earlier for about an hour. Ahhh, you forget how nice it is to be “baby stuck” until it doesn’t happen very often. It’s my favorite.

We spent the next few hours lounging around the house, video chatting with family, and then eventually made it outside for a long walk to the park.

Scott was surprised to hear that was all I wanted to do for the day, but it was perfect. We passed a pub that was serving refreshing to-go drinks on our way, and it was the cherry on top to our next few hours of sunshine of fresh air in a new-to-us part of the park that we always frequent.

We kicked soccer balls, chased bubbles, (Sky) chased birds, gathered sticks, and even had a dance party. It was exactly how I pictured Mother’s Day to be decades ago, and I feel lucky to have this guy who helped make it all possible.

We made our way back to the apartment as the wind picked up, and Scott treated me to a homemade Italian dinner soon after, which is always, always welcomed.

I’ll admit that I started the day with a bit of a bummed feeling, but this year’s holiday turned out to be exactly what my heart and soul needed.

Thank you for sharing a few minutes of your morning with me, and I want you to know that I’m thinking of all of you who might have had a hard day yesterday. To all of those struggling with anything having to do with Mother’s Day, my heart goes out to you and I’m continuously praying for you.

And with that, I’m off to start the week and not go into the fort that just appeared in our living room. Apparently, this one is only for boys … and for whatever reason, that melts my heart even more.

Here’s to you — mommas, momma-to-be, and the mother figures out there. You are all superheroes and deserve the best this week and every day!