BOTTICELLO FARMS

“WE GROW OUR OWN”

209 HILLSTOWN RD

MANCHESTER, CT 06040

(860) 649-2462

I said a Mother's Day prayer for you to thank the Lord above for blessing me with a lifetime of your tenderhearted love. I thanked God for the caring  you've shown me through the years, for the closeness we've enjoyed in times of laughter and of tears.  And so, I thank you from the heart for all you've done for me and I bless the Lord for giving me the best mother there could be! ~ Author Unknown ~

When I told my mom I was going to have a child of my own I remember her looking at me with an emotional expression on her face that I couldn't quite decipher. She looked into my eyes and said "It will change your life, and you will never regret it."  I remember I said something like "yeah, no more sleeping late, no more spontaneous vacations, no more extra money..." I really had no idea what being a parent meant.

Now I understand what my moms look meant.  Yes, being a mom has changed my life-in ways I never even thought about. Mom wanted to tell me that being a mother wasn't about giving birth - as miraculous as this is - but that becoming a mother would leave me with an emotional wound so raw that I would be left forever vulnerable.  That I will never be able to read a newspaper again without asking "What if that had been MY child?" That every child I saw with a skinned knee or bruised feelings would become my child. That there would be an invisible but tangible bond between me and every mother in the world and their children's pains and triumphs would become mine too, even though we may have never met.

My mother wanted  me to know that everyday decisions will no longer be routine. That a five year old boy's desire to go to the men's room rather than the women's at McDonald's would become a major dilemma. That right there, in that moment, issues of independence and gender identity will be weighed against the prospect that a child molester may be lurking in that restroom.  That regardless of how independent I am I will second guess myself constantly as a mother. I will never feel the same way about myself again. I will give up my life in a moment to save my child, but also pray for more years, so I can see him grow and accomplish his dreams.

Mom wanted to tell me that no matter how much I though I knew about love I really had no idea that there was a bottomless well of it inside of me that would grow deeper still, as surely as my child grew. In that well would be my hopes, dreams, fears and yearnings for my child.  Mom wanted me to know that what others considered to be a sacrifice of replacing my needs with my child's wants or desires would simply be, to me, a decision of giving in to love and being repaid by seeing the smiles and hearing the laughter of my child, creating a memory that will forever be held within my heart.

She wanted me to know that I needed to savor and celebrate every precious moment of my child's life because before I knew it he would come to me with the news that he was having a child of his own, and in that moment I would realize everything encompassed in the look my mom gave me-and I imagine it will be the same expression on my own face. The mother in me will momentarily be at once terrified and thrilled for my child, and the adult child in me will be humbled by the realization of "sacrifices" my mother has made for me throughout my life.

This Mothers day will not pass without mom knowing she is cherished and loved. She has given me a lifetime of loving memories and I appreciate all that she does for me still without ever thinking of herself first.

Have a Happy Mothers Day!

Mothers are the place that we call home.  On them we rest our heads, and close our eyes.  There's no one else who grants the same soft peace, happiness, contentment, sweet release.  Erasing nighttime tears with lullabies, restoring the bright sun that makes us bloom. Author unknown