Reflections on Mother’s Day

Last Mother’s Day was our seventh Mother’s Day spent enjoying Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden with my family and my best friend’s family.  You’ve likely read about some of our other adventures on this blog before. As usual, we had a wonderful time, but every year brings something new.

New additions – My son is now 21 months old and is on the move!  Sissy was his tour guide through the Garden and he was so pleased to be included “with the big kids.”  Sometimes he had a difficult time keeping up with his little legs, but he giggled and laughed the entire way.  My daughter and my best friend’s daughter were both mini moms: bouncing him on their knees, tickling him and holding his hand to keep him with them.  Amazingly, they seemed to enjoy having a little shadow.

What an exciting Mother’s Day for my best friend, with the addition of her son who was just 6-weeks-old.   While not yet able to play with the other children, he seemed quite content to snooze to the sounds of the band.

Traditions – Our little girls are growing up.  Having reached the very “big girl” age of 7, the girls weren’t interested in dancing to the music this year, much to their moms’ chagrin.  Instead they wanted to sit and chat, find “secret hideaways,” and practice cartwheels on the lawn.  Luckily, my little guy was very excited to dance with Mom for several songs, but then he’s always been a “boogie man.”

One tradition the kids always love involves smelling the heavenly scents of the gorgeous peonies in Grace Arents Garden.  This year, my daughter showed her little brother how it was done and he thought it was pretty neat.

Secret Hideaways – This year the ongoing request from the girls was to show them “secret hideaways” and “cool” lesser known places in the Garden, since “Mommy works here.”  I did my best to show them many of the really intriguing places, but they also managed to find some of their own special spots.

Sad Good Byes – Every year it gets harder to leave!  The girls want more time together and more time in the Garden.  Even though the Garden was getting ready to close, the girls asked if they could please stay longer and explore one more part of the Garden.  Thankfully, we don’t have to wait until next Mother’s Day to bring our families back for a play date.  Even still, there is always something extra special about Mother’s Day in the Garden.

Dads like to spend a day in the Garden with family too! Join us for Father’s Day Weekend at the Garden  coming up on June 20 and 21, 2015.