a thing about mothers day

the daily taryn — may 8, 2022

We had big plans this weekend.

Friday at 10AM - meet my aunt and uncle at the Ritz for brunch. After my entire life of them living in the perfect house in Brentwood, they’re moving, and this was a little goodbye breakfast moment.

6PM - thruple date (me, cam, and stephen) to wildly overfed omakase sushi at Matsumoto.

Saturday at 8:30AM - board a flight and head up to Sacramento to watch two ex-workers, not-ex friends get married.

Sunday at 10:30AM - fly home, pet and feed the dogs, then take my parents to the Angel City game for mothers day.

Was gonna be a good one.

Instead, I — feels like very randomly — noticed a tickle in my throat. To be safe, I rescheduled Friday activities. Then, I woke up on Saturday and still felt a but under the weather. I hurriedly shoved swabs up my nose and in the back of my throat (yes, in the order — Cam already berated me), before testing positive for covid at 7:30AM. Our bags were in the car, flight was in an hour, when Cam opened the door to see me holding my positive test results.

So. Your girl has done none of the things on this monumental list. And on top of it, your girls 3 best guy friends have been at another guys bachelor party all weekend, so she’s been sat here like a deflated, covid-infected potato, missing all the fun things that would’ve helped her not think about how her best friends are all together.

But none of this actually matters

It just does not. Because although it’s 5:41PM and I should be sitting next to my mom at a soccer game that neither of us know anything about, I’m so lucky to be one of the kids who excitedly celebrates today. I love mothers day, because my mom is an incredible mother. I love my mom. She knows knows me and loves me and loves me for me.

And as I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized how sadly rare that is. Moms are complicated. How people feel/experience/see their moms is complicated. How few people like their moms, love their moms, have their moms, even know their moms. If that’s where you are today – in a weird spot with all-things-mom — please know that I’m thinking of you. Very truly thinking of you.

For those of us who got dealt the lucky cards, don’t take it for granted.

Here’s a piece I loved from a YA book called Tell Me Three Things, from the perspective of a girl who lost her mom:

I think back to before, before before before, and they all seem like perfect days. Who cares about a stubbed toe or the hint of a booger in my nose? I had a mother, and not just insert generic mother here, but my mother, who I loved in a way that not everyone gets to love their mom. I mean, I know on some level, everyone loves their mother because of the whole she is your mother thing, but I didn’t love my mom just because she was my mother. I loved my mom because she was cool and interesting and warm and listened to me and continued to make me pancakes in the shape of my initials because somehow, even though I didn’t, she always understood that I’d never be too old for that sort of thing. I loved my mom because she read the entire Harry Potter series out loud to me, and when we were finished, she too wanted to start all over again. I loved my mom because she was mine. And I was hers.

Happy Mother’s day to any moms reading, including my very own:

Beyond that, happy Sunday. You got another one. How cool?

Talk soon

your friend,

taryn