This has been the most pleasant of Mothers� Days. And I feel like I�ve earned it, for AJ woke up three times last night, leaving me sorely sleep deprived. My husband, who slept through most of the late-night wake up calls, got up with him at 6:15 leaving me wandering in an odd dream. I was at a conference of some sort, staying in a hotel with a number of people I knew. For some reason AJ came with me, but was in a separate room on another floor, which I was very concerned about. I was afraid he�d wander out of bed looking for me and would get lost. I was sharing a room with a former colleague of mine (in real life) who slept for the entire dream � I only ever saw a lump in the bed. Not much happened in the dream, but people drifted in and out and there were assorted interactions. The last part I remember was an old man walking down a pier to the ocean in the sunshine holding the hand of a little girl who looked exactly like him � both had long blond hair. Someone remarked that the old man was the father of someone else I knew, but the little girl was the old man�s daughter, not his granddaughter, as it appeared.

When I awoke, I smelled pancakes. My husband was hard at work in the kitchen and AJ was boogying in the living room to Ralph�s World, mentioned in lass� roundup of kids music yesterday. When he caught sight of me, he yelled, �Mommy! We got something for you!� And out he came lugging a large basket for my garden tools. Inside were some new plant labels and new gardening gloves as well as a card each from my husband and AJ. After pancakes, accompanied by a vase of flowers from our garden and the paper, AJ and I went out to try out the new gardening gear. It was a gorgeous morning. The crabapples are in full bloom and the honeysuckle is just coming out, so the air was filled with the scent of flowers. AJ dug small holes and threw rocks in the stream while I weeded and pruned.

Later I took a solo walk to admire all the new plant life. Back in the early part of the century, when this area was a private estate, it was landscaped by one of the great landscape architects of the last century, Jens Jensen. While much of his work here has been lost in the subdivision into lots, many of the original plantings and structures remain, including a huge bank of ancient lilacs flanking what was once the original drive to the main house. Walking through that small bit of road at this time of year is an experience I have never had elsewhere. Your eyes are filled with purple flowers, the scent is heavenly and you hear nothing but the humming of the many bumblebees flocking to the bushes.

AJ, due to his insomniac night, took a rare morning nap, following which we piled into the car and headed to his grandma�s for Mother�s Day dinner and general sloth. My husband�s sister, who, rumor had it, never even turned her oven on in her last house, has taken up cooking of late and made dinner for all. Despite the fact that my mother-in-law was not fully responsible for the meal and despite the fact that the five of us present who were over the age of three claimed to be on a diet, there were four different desserts, including a birthday cake for my mother-in-law who turns 75 tomorrow, all of which were consumed with relish. Our birthday gift to my mother-in-law was flowers for her garden, which we planted for her after dinner. We made the mistake of letting AJ hold the hose, which he proceeded to brandish in the air like a weapon, soaking us all and giggling until his uncle managed to turn the water off at the faucet. Fortunately, since it was nearly 90 degrees, no one seemed to mind and we all ran around the backyard playing football with AJ until we could run no more.

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