Happy Mother's Day

First and foremost, I have to say Happy Mother's Day to my mom. She has been an example of hard work and sacrifice to me. Thank you for putting up with all my crap as a teenager then still loving me as I became a mother as well.

I'd also like to say Happy Mother's Day to my mother-in-law. Do they have Mother's Day in Australia? Anyways, thanks for raising a fabulous son...it's Sheldon I'm talking about, if you're wondering which one.

I went to a wedding reception last night for a special young lady that I met while I was her Young Women's leader. She was just a little Beehive. Now she is married...I can't believe it. I feel so old!

But I digress. As the usual wedding reception activities unfolded (first dance with hubby, dance with her dad, groom dancing with his mother, and the ever so popular slide show documenting the bride and grooms childhood to marriage with the accompanying cheesy love songs), I realized that in as little as ten years, I could be sitting there watching one of my own sons get married. I couldn't help but get a little misty-eyed at the thought. I guarantee you that I'll probably be a soppy teary mess when the slide show plays. Or perhaps it won't be a slide show. Perhaps technology will make way for some kind of virtual reality show.

Anyways, my point is that I love my sons. I am going to be very protective of them as they start dating. I may even end up being one of those overbearing mothers who point out faults in their girlfriends because nobody is good enough for my boys. I apologize in advance to all future girlfriends and their future spouses. However, this criticism comes with years of living with them. I know they are not perfect and because I know what their faults and weaknesses are, the women they choose to marry must be able to complement those weaknesses into a strength. I suppose that is why opposites attract. But I also know that the women they choose must not bring them down and turn a strength into a weakness.

I can say this though...I am trying to prepare them to be a good husband. They will know how to do their fair share of household chores and they will know how to cook. For example, ever since Aidan could talk, he has never said "I love you". Sheldon and I say it to each other and to the boys all the time so it's not like it's something foreign in our home. But still, he has never said those words. Now I am getting worried and foresee this as a future problem for him when he is married. I can only imagine the couples counseling sessions now...



Wife: "I don't feel he loves me. He never tells me he loves me. Even when I tell him that I love him, he never says it back. He just smiles and hugs me."

Shrink: "How do you want to respond to that, Aidan?"

Aidan: "She knows I love her. I shouldn't have to say it all the time. I show her all the time I love her."

Wife: "But he never says it!"



Like I said, I'm trying to correct that now before it becomes a problem. I explain to him that when he loves somebody, he needs to tell them sometimes so they know he loves them. And it's rude not to return the "I love you" if you really do feel that way. So it's become kind of a game to try and coax an "I love you" out of him. But whenever I say it to him, he just grins and hugs me.

Well one night as I was putting him to bed, I said "I love you" and did not get a return. I was getting frustrated. Then he gave me a big hug as usual, then said "This is how I say I like you."

So to Aidan's future wife, his hugs mean I like you. I have deciphered his code.

Last month though, we made some real progress. We were at the mall picking up Sheldon's new suit and bumped into Angelina. She accompanied us to the store. As we were waiting, she noticed how clingy Aidan was. She commented on how he loves his mommy. I explained the whole I love you dilemma to her. She was shocked and started to chastise him in a playful way. I demonstrated by saying I love you to him and he didn't reply. Then I tried it in French and low and behold, he returned the sentiment in French! Now I don't know if it was because he was scared of Angelina in all her Frenchness, but it worked.

So to Aidan's future wife, if you want to hear him say I love you, say it in French.

But if you could only imagine the happiness I felt when he returned those words. So to my mother, my mother-in-law, and my sons...

Je t'aime.