Happy Mother's (& Son's) Day

When I told Brandon Mother's Day was coming up, his first question to me was "When is it going to be Brandon's Day?" Like all mothers who have been asked this of their own children since the dawn of time, I laughed and said "every day is Brandon's day". He didn't think this was funny and turned away sort of confused mumbling something like "but when is it my day". I know this sounds silly but I was actually hurt by that. Of course I don't expect much from one of the most self-absorbed creatures alive - a four year old preschooler - but still a high five would have been nice. A small nod of recognition to the sacrifices, time, worry etc I make on his behalf. I could tell a heart-felt "Thank you Mom" was not in my near future.
That same day I came across a short video on Facebook of a young boy wishing his mom a happy mother's day. The video was about two minutes long and shot from the perspective of the boy - who also narrated it. The little boy talks about how when he sleeps, his mom sleeps and when he wakes up his mom wakes up. He goes on to talk about how he cried because the boy at school wouldn't play with him and how his mom cried too. Or how when he laughs his mom laughs with him. He wonders "is it because you want to be just like me?" He goes on to talk about how his mom helps him with homework even though she's not in school or how when he broke his arm, she said her heart was broken and he says "see, we both broke something".
This sweet little video made me stop and think. This is probably exactly the way Brandon sees me and really, there's a lot of truth in it. I want to be there to share in his successes, to nurse him when he's hurt, to help him learn, to make him feel safe when I tuck him in at night. And these are the things we do as moms, day after day and year after year, because we are fortunate enough to be called "mom" in the first place. Without Brandon I wouldn't have this day at all so I choose to share it with him, like I do everything else. He is the best part of me - the part of me that is a mother - and so it only makes sense we celebrate it together.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7GRtLWggiI

This morning he handed me a card. His sweet little writing across the envelope read "Mommy". When I opened it he explained he'd drawn me a flower and that the birds hugging were me and him. He wrote his name in a pyramid all over the card, he drew a heart and then wrote "mom" one more time for good measure. It was perfect.