Here's to Hallmark Holidays

Mother's Day. Many feel it is one of those Hallmark holidays. I guess I do in a way. I'm not one of those moms who "demands" that their husband gets them jewelry or some extravagant gift. I don't have to. I am fortunate enough to have one of the most caring husbands known to man. Every Mother's Day, Andy tries his best to go above and beyond to make my day special. I will never forget the year that he created an art museum, consisting of our children's artwork, past and present, in our attic. The tour finished with brunch in the "cafe"--a table set with flowers in the middle of the room. There was even a second tour later in the day for my mom, Nanny. I don't know many men who would put the time in to organizing all of the kids' art work, never mind being creative enough to think of it.

As the kids have gotten older and have more commitments, to which Andy and I constantly drive them, my dear husband has realized that Mother's Day is more about getting a break than about devoting the entire day to family. This year he did just that. After baseball on Saturday he packed up the kids for an overnight to see Grandma. This to me was a great gift. I had Saturday evening and Sunday morning all to myself, well not all to myself. I had a ladies' sleepover with my mom, cousin, and a friend. Many stories and laughs were shared, along with some sangria. After breakfast and a trip to the Christmas Tree Shop in the morning, my clan arrived home, excited to see me, and me excited to see them. They presented me with portraits, poems, and vases they made in school along with their special journal. Ever since I got sick, one time in the spring (usually Mother's Day or my anniversary) each child presents me with his/her journal. They have designed the cover, and each year they add more detail to it and write a special sentiment to me. We all enjoy seeing how smart they are getting, and it never fails that I cry over what someone wrote. After that we had family batting practice. The day was the perfect combination of relaxation and family time. Isn't my husband the best? Oh yeah, he also got me the fire pit I wanted.

The point of this is not to go on about Mother's Day, but to announce to everyone that I am so fortunate to have the best guy around. When you make a commitment to walk 60 miles, it is not just your commitment. It effects your entire family. When I have to do 18 mile training walks, I am gone for several hours. These long walks happen EVERY weekend--both days! Never once has Andy complained about this, well maybe once or twice, but who can blame him? He realizes how important this is to me, and he supports me however he can. (You should see the signs he made for last year's walk--they should have been entered in an art show!)

So I was just about to sign off--and talk about strange. Here I am writing this blog about how great my hubby is, and he does it again. Just this morning my allergies were out of control, like everyone's these days. Well, I had run out of Claritin and didn't have time to get some before school. My eyes were so puffy and swollen that I had a student say, "Ms. Ziomek, you're not going to make it through the day!" Believe me, that was how I was feeling until my knight in shining armor saved me again. During his free block at school, Andy went to CVS and showed up at my office door with a new box of Claritin. Now that is love! You're the best Z!

Ta-ta for now!