Motherhood comes full circle

It’s impossible to remember the details of every Mother’s Day I’ve celebrated since having children three decades ago.

A few of those special “mom” days stand out, though, like the year we swamped the canoe on an ill-fated trip down the Stillwater River.

As we hit a tree snag everything suddenly was bobbing in the water — including our two young daughters. I think that might have been the last time we paddled together as a family.

I remember the girls proudly bringing home handmade decoupage vases fashioned from salad dressing jars, hand prints preserved in plaster and painted gold, silhouettes of their young faces cut from construction paper.

All of these treasures are tucked away for posterity.

Twenty-eight years ago on Mother’s Day I was just hours away from giving birth to our second daughter, Deanna. She arrived shortly after 8 a.m. the following Monday morning, May 11, 1987.

Today, on this Mother’s Day 28 years later, I am with Deanna and her husband, Rob, in Moscow, Idaho, helping them move into a new home. The timing is poignant because they are expecting their first child in early October. On this Mother’s Day, I am a grandmother-in-waiting and thrilled beyond measure.

On Monday, Deanna’s birthday, they’ll find out whether they’re having a girl or a boy. A fitting birthday present, indeed.

If anyone is equipped to be a wonderful mother, it’s my dear Deanna, who is kind, perceptive, patient and wise beyond her years. With a degree in early childhood education, she chose infant care as her specialty.

Right now she’s the infant-care supervisor at a brand new day-care center built by a big engineering firm in Pullman, Wash., for the employees’ children. She oversees the care of all of the babies and single-handedly cares for up to four infants at a time. She makes it seem easy.

I call her a baby whisperer. They’ll be wonderful parents.

Today I will call my mother, whose memory loss continues to worsen. She won’t remember if my brother brought her to church this morning or if they went out for brunch afterward. But here’s an interesting observation: My mother somehow is able to recall that Deanna is expecting a baby and that she’ll be a great-grandmother for the first time. I know this because my other siblings have told me she has mentioned it to them more than once.

Deanna and her grandmother always have had a special bond and shared many interests such as quilting and sewing, so perhaps it’s no surprise that the news of this pregnancy has sealed itself into my mother’s deepest psyche.

Motherhood is the very essence of the circle of life. We have children; our children have children. If we’re lucky we’ll live long enough to see our grandchildren and even our great-grandchildren grow up. It’s often said that every day should be Mother’s Day because motherhood is perpetual, unconditional love and caring. That’s so true, but it’s still fitting to honor our mothers, and our mothers-to-be, on this very special day.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.