[Wondergirl]

First published: May 11, 2012

Mother’s Day.

There are so many things that come to mind when those two words are mentioned. Giving gifts to my mom, and then no longer being able to because she passed away. My first Mother’s Day as a mom, not just to my fur babies, but to my human baby. All the gifts I’ve received during those years. Handmade cards, crafts, a plaster hand print, an apron with “We love our mom” written on it with their childish handwriting. So many treasures. They mean more to me than anything else. They are my world.

My first human baby is now thirteen years old, my second is nine years old, the third (had he/she survived) would be six years old now. I often wonder what that third baby would have been like. How would he/she have changed our family? I can mourn that loss, but I have to say, we are so lucky. We have a great family.

Well, this Mother’s Day may be even more special than most. This year has been tough. We lost two fur babies within five months. Our first, Indy, grew up with the kids. He was our first fur baby. In fact, when we got married, a lot of people asked when we’d start a family. We got Indy shortly (within two months) after we got married. When the questions started rolling in, we replied with “Well, we just got a dog. If we can’t keep him alive, then we have no business having children”. Indy passed away at the ripe old age of 16.

Jasper was second. He was a rescue, and boy did he need us! Turns out that we needed him too. He came around shortly after my parents died. I was pregnant with our second baby, and hubby and I decided that we had had too much death, we needed some life, so we adopted some life, our little Jasper. He passed away less than three weeks ago.

Now we have a new fur baby, and he has been a blessing. Again, we needed some life in the house. Too much death has surrounded us this year. He’s not a replacement, because nothing could replace our loss. He’s his own being, he is who he is, and he is loved as much as every other fur baby we’ve had in our lives.

Rascal is the name of our newest fur baby. He’s already given us so many gifts — the gift of smiles on the faces of my children, the gift of laughter in our home, a friend for our other fur baby Chewy, a new family member for all of us.

Mother’s Day will be special this year. I’m surrounded by those I love, and those who love me. We don’t have a lot of money; we’re always struggling to make ends meet. There are so many things we dream of doing, but, in the end, all that matters is family.

I can’t wait until Mother’s Day. I know that my daughter (the nine-year-old) made something for me at school. She’s kept the secret very well, and I can’t wait to see what I’ll be getting, because it’s from her heart. My son (13) has said that he’s going to make breakfast that day. He’s shown us that he’s quite the cook. I can’t wait to see what he comes up with, and I know I’ll eat every bite.

The best part of this Mother’s Day is the fact that we’ll all be home together. My dream day would be breakfast with my family, going for a walk with Chewy, our three-year-old beagle, and our new fur baby Rascal and our kids. Games in the afternoon, and movie night (my pick, because it’s only fair) that night, with popcorn!

I am so lucky. I’m a mom to many. Not just my kids, but the fur babies I have in my life. I love them all more than anything, and I’m so blessed to have them in my life. I’m a mom!