Blue Ribbon

After last week I do not believe I am in the running for the "Mother of Year" award. After totaling all of my dreadful mishaps of forgetting birthdays and forgetting to pick up 5 children from car pool (I actually pretended I was stuck in traffic), I believe the conclusion on this taunting task of maintaining in the top 10 is all over.

My most recent memorable incident which did not qualify me for this prestigious award was an incident that I encountered with my youngest daughter. It goes like this.....

Packing lunch for the four children has been fairly easy, so easy that it has almost becomes rote, like an assembly line inserting the standard PB&J sandwich, fruit, chips and drink into their lunches. On occassion I would put in a ham and cheese only for it to be returned gone bad. You now the drill, the ole' standard packed lunch, right?

Just recently I noticed a piece of paper and pen by the lunch box. I ignored it and moved on to my lunch packing. The next day again, the piece of paper and pen appeared. "Okay" I said, "What is with the paper and pen?" My little girl said "mom, I'm the only one at my lunch table that doesn't get a love note in their lunch box. Would you please write something on it to me? At that particular moment in one of my ordinary days I just about tripped over my heart because it was on the floor. The standard lunch has never required a note. It is now kind of like a happy meal except no toy, just note. No extra charge.

This little request from my daughter makes me reflect on the motherhood of my grandmother who had two handfuls of children and the sacraifice she made for her children out of love. It also makes me reflect on Mary, Jesus' mother. Did Mary ever feel she let Jesus down? What about the time she lost him when he wandered off and she had to go searching for him. Do you think she felt like she should get mother of the year? We are all human just loving one another under the best circumstances. Mary lost Jesus for a short while. What if we lost Jesus for a short while in terms of not having him in our daily life?

Jesus gets me through my day as he comforts me, protects me, listens and he carries me when I can't walk all the while, always loving me. Our children love us unconditionally as Jesus does with arms wide open always ready to embrace us.

In my ordinary day my motherhood was challenged as Mary was challenged to protect and love her son so he could protect and love us. Mary's job was not ordinary, it was extraordinary and I believe the 1st place ribbon goes to Mary.

As for lunch, my daughter is going to get an extraordinary note of love.