Shannan with her daughter, Louisa (3)

NO BETTER GIFT THAN TIME ITSELF

- Shannan Swanson, Food Editor

I know that on Mother’s Day I am supposed to be showered with gifts in return for all I do for my family, but all I really want is time.  Time to enjoy my husband and my children.  Time to bake cakes and make cookies.  Time to plant vegetables in the garden.  Time to walk on the beach and to snuggle with my baby.
Now that I am a “working woman,” I long for the time I spent with my kids. I relish every chance I have to cut the crusts off my daughter’s sandwiches and I pop out of bed in the morning to make her chocolate milk – warm, of course!  Only I can make her mac & cheese “extra cheesy,” the way she likes it.  Her hair always looks prettier when I brush it.  And now that I am raising a boy I get to do it all again.  I wonder, what will Sonny need me for?  How will I make him feel special?  What will be his favorite food?
Today my darling daughter, Louisa told me she is going to make me a cake for Mother’s Day.  It is going to be a vanilla cake with cherries, strawberries and blueberries and lots of whipped cream.  She wants it be extra special because she loves me so much.  In fact she told me she loved me “from the bottom of the sea to the moon and the stars and the sun and then to Malibu and back to me.”  As she told me this, I held her smiling three-month-old brother, Sonny, and my heart filled with joy.  I feel like the luckiest woman in the world. Honestly, neither of them has given me any trouble at all.  I had two of the greatest pregnancies,  I never had morning sickness and I never experienced a weird craving that kept me up at night.  Both deliveries were a cinch (but don’t tell my husband!).  Plus, they are great sleepers – we actually woke up before they did this morning!
So this Mother’s Day I have decided to count my blessings.   For all the mistakes I have made (and trust me there have been plenty!) I am still the love of their lives – and they are the loves of mine.  This year I have decided to make time for ALL the special things I can do for them. I am going to make every moment count.  Read one more story, answer one more question, bake one more muffin.  Most importantly I am going to listen.  I am taking it all in and enjoying the gifts of being a mom.