It’s not that I don’t appreciate the praises, flowers, school tea parties, $8 greeting cards that play music…it’s just that Mother’s Day, more than any other day of the year, reminds me of how fortunate I am to have a supportive husband.  Above all, I credit him with my ability to do it all. 

Just the other day, after taking one daughter to lessons after school and grocery shopping with our other daughter while I worked late at the office, my husband called to tell me that he discovered our little one had lice. By the time I got home, he had already bought the special treatment at the drugstore and shampooed her hair.  I expected drama and tears when I walked in the door, but it was quiet.  I found them in the upstairs bathroom, my daughter sitting on the toilet wrapped in a towel, while my husband gently, methodically, combed her hair, strand by strand with a tiny comb.  He was calm and focused; she was still and quiet.  I was unbelievably grateful.

All the things I wanted to do, but thought I couldn’t -  like pursue career advancement in my desired field when I had little experience and later, go back to school to get my doctorate – I was able to do because he believed in me.  He is, as the song says, “the wind beneath my wings.”  And when I was reluctant to have a second child, not confident about how I would divide my time and attention and still be a good mother, he didn’t push, but gently persuaded me that we could do it – together.  He would share responsibilities with the baby and around the house.  He pledged to do whatever I needed to make it work and sealed it with a diamond ring when I got pregnant (this from the man who bought me a mailbox for my birthday!).  And he delivered on his promise. Our family dynamic works well for everyone  – sometimes we do things all together as a family of four; other times, we take turns spending quality one on one time with each daughter.  As I write this, my 5 year old has climbed right into my husband’s lap to watch TV as I wait for my oldest to get dressed so that we can go work at a food pantry for a few hours this morning.  Then we will all go to lunch together and later, my husband will be with the kids while I grab a mid-afternoon nap, not because it's Mother's Day, but because that's how most of our Sundays go.

And so today, which happens to be the second Sunday in May, I am thankful for all the people in my life, chief among them my husband, for helping me to be the mother – and woman – that I am today.