The Journey of We

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there ... I hope you've been showered with all the love and appreciation you so well deserve today. When I was eating my standard three juicy eggs with cream cheese this morning, my mind drifted back to the times my three kiddos would bring me breakfast in bed on Mother's Day. I laughed out loud as I told my two dogs, Julie and Ollie, about sneakily picking egg shells out of my children's lovingly prepared scrambled eggs, wondering if eating severely undercooked bacon would make me sick and proclaiming that burnt toast was my favorite kind of toast. I'm sure those of you who are moms will completely understand when I say that the looks of joy on Matt, Brad and Meg's faces was totally worth fudging the truth a bit in regard to the awesomeness of their cooking skills. Thankfully, all three of them have grown up to be quite good in the kitchen ... Meghann whips up the best mashed potatoes in the entire universe ... Brad can grill hamburgers and steaks better than any chef in the finest restaurants ... and Matt cooks vegetables that are so delicious, it's hard not to be selfish and eat them all myself.

I've had a 3-day Mother's Day this year ... dinner and dessert (don't get your panties in a knot, mine was sugar-free) with Brad and Shelby on Friday evening, a beautiful arrangement of flowers delivered to my house yesterday from Meghann and Barrett, and an hour of Skyping with Matt, Becca and Boo today. By the way, I received my Mother's Day card from Matt and Bec over a week ago and didn't open it until I Skyped with them today ... booyah! My mom always opened cards and gifts the minute she received them ... even if they were clearly labeled not to open until the holiday. Oh, Mom ... not only have I thought about my kids all day today, needless to say, I've thought about Mom a lot as well.

There's construction going on across the street from my house ... the city is doing a major overhaul of the creek that runs along the walking path. They've cut down a bunch of trees, and there are big diggers and excavators all along the side of the trail. There are large piles of gravel and dirt covering several sections of the sidewalk and paved path, and there are numerous signs pointing to various detours for the many walkers, bikers and runners who frequent the trail on a daily basis. I must say that my little Oliver is not a happy dog with all the changes ... thankfully, the workers haven't done anything to his beloved bridges yet. If they do, I'm pretty sure that Ollie may well need to see a doggie head doctor ... he will be traumatized if the bridges come down.

As Ollie and I walked this evening, I was struck with the significance of the changes taking place on the trail ... of how those changes have caused so many people to alter their normal routine and seek out a different route. And the more I thought about those changes, both to the trail and to the people on it, the more it caused me to think about the journey of life ... the journey that encompasses so many people I love ... my parents, my siblings and extended family, my children, my granddaughter, my friends. There are times when the path we walk together is smooth, easy and familiar. There are other times when the path is changed either by accident or design, and we struggle to find a new way to keep on walking. There are even times when we may think the path is gone forever, that there is no fixing the broken pavement or no way to remove the piles of dirt that block our way.

The older I get, the more I think less about the destination and more about the journey. I think about how many amazing people I am blessed to share the path with ... I think so much more about the journey, the good, the bad and everything in between. The journey of we ... growing together ... loving together ... weeping together ... cheering together ... suffering loss together ... pushing together ... accepting together. The journey of we is the greatest, most magnificent part of life, friends ... the journey of we is life.