I’ve done a lot of things on this planet in my 69 years. Some smarter than others. But the best thing I ever did was to become a mother of two wonderful human beings. It’s Mother’s Day and I looked up some old pictures to prove to you I raised two children. Both of them live close and I see them as often as possible.

I started young, barely twenty, when the first one showed up. I was terrified I’d screw up and we’d all starve. I didn’t know what to do with the little bundle of joy—and it showed. But I had a mother and mother-in-law to help guide me. Even though I thought I knew better sometimes, I still learned from them.

I worked part time when the children were young and tried to avoid placing them in day care. Their dad worked early mornings so I worked part-time afternoons. It brought in a little money. When they were in school full time, I went back to work full time too. And I went back to school while I worked and mothered. And the years whizzed by.

We always had a lot of music and books in our home, though there were times when we had little else. And my kids remember that. They remember the classical music as I rocked the baby to sleep and later the bedtime stories when they were old enough to appreciate them. I often put the needle on the 33-rpm record while we danced around the living room, and I managed to get rid of some dust or fold another load of laundry. They are both good readers and music lovers. I must have done a few things right.

I now have five grandchildren and they too are grown. The one I kept on weekends sometimes when he was young is about to graduate college. I couldn’t be prouder. One lives around the corner and though he works out of town, he helps us with things we’ve become too old to manage. The others I only see on holidays, but I look forward to those times.

Of all the things I’ve done in my life, being a mother was my favorite, and I wouldn’t change a thing in the way it happened. Happy Mother’s Day.

What are you reading this week?