Dear Maya,
Here is your Mama the day before her and I got married, at our rehearsal dinner. This was in our backyard at the house we owned in Galloway, Ohio. Who would have thought that nearly 11 years later we would be living across the country and have you in our lives? I can tell you for certain that we did not.
So how did we end up in Seattle? Well when I was 19 years old I went on a cross country road trip that ended in Seattle. I fell in love with it and always wanted to go back. It turns out your mother and I both have a bit of a travel bug and it bit us at the right time. I remember when we first came out to scope out the housing situation. It was really happening. I think your mother freaked and wanted to abandon ship. :)
I think that picture says a lot about your Mother. In the height of a crazy stressful time she always takes time to laugh. That is important. That is why we love her. That picture was taken from our hotel room at the Edgewater. This was our view in the morning. I think that day was the first time Mama started to fall for Seattle.
Fast forward about 1 month and bam. We're here. This is the first house we rented in Seattle. It was on Gilman Ave in the Magnolia neighborhood.
We loved Magnolia but hated the house. So less than 12 months later we found a place on 48 Ave in West Seattle. This house is important. This is where we finally felt comfortable and at ease. It was stressful in Ohio, the move and everything. Finally we started to feel settled here.
10 months later you came in to the world. And our world was flipped upside down again.
This post ended about 5:11 PM on March 14, 2012. Between then and your birth your mother was amazing.
We got home and we knew she was in labor. We were prepared and had an idea of what we wanted to do. We didn't want to get to the hospital early. We had practiced some breathing and exercises. Most importantly we were both calm and on the same page. You can thank your Mother for that. She was cool like the Fonz. We got home and she said she was hungry. So I made dinner. Butternut Squash ravioli with asparagus in an oil and balsamic sauce.
While I cooked you mother did her exercises on our exercise ball. We talked and took little massage breaks during the contractions.
It was probably about 8 PM when we decided it was time to go to the hospital. Your Grandma was out shopping and just got back at the perfect time. They say that once a woman can't talk through a contraction it's time to go to the hospital. Your mother hit that point in the car. We started getting a little more anxious. We pulled up and head into the Hospital and Grandma parked our car.
Now, we had been back and forth on whether or not to use medication for the birth. We decided we'd decide when the time was right versus deciding up front. By the time we were in the triage room Mama was ready to strangle someone if they didn't give her drugs, STAT!
The drugs helped. They helped a lot. Mama was able to take a nap and within 5 hours of being admitted, you were born!
So while your birth was abnormally easy I'm pretty sure Mama is always going to use the whole "I made you" routine around Mother's Day. And rightfully so. She is awesome. She's deserves her Mother's Day "weekend" from us at the very least.
Here is a picture of her pregnant with you. She always wanted to look "more pregnant" than she did. Even though her belly was smaller you were still big. You just had your crazy little legs and feet jammed up her rib cage and pretty much kicked her the entire last trimester.
She loves you so much Mai and while I get to wax poetic about you on this blog she is the one who tends to your every need. She gives your pill every morning and has since you were 3 weeks old. She has done such a good job with it that you LOVE taking your pill and the Doctor loves the results we are seeing. All because of Mama.
When you were just a tiny baby and couldn't hold your head up yet she was the one on the ground with you and helping you learn your way in this human life. Always there with love, smiles and encouragement.
She is the one who takes you to the play areas you love. Encouraging you to play with all kinds of toys, obstacles and musical instruments.
She deals with the things about Seattle that she hates just to make the family happy. What does she hate about Seattle? For one, when in a parking lot with empty spots people will park as close to you as they possibly can. It's almost like a conspiracy theory. Why Seattle? Why do you do this?
She has been on 2 solo trips with you and THAT is a lot of work. All because she wants you to spend time with your family and share you with everyone.
She's the one who has the patience to deal with you after you are being a little monster beast and save the day. We were at the Skagit County Tulip Festival earlier this year and you were awful. Just awful. Spoiled, screeching, whiny little beast. Daddy was done with you and ready to just go home. Not Mama. She said no. You weren't going to ruin our Tulip days. She took over and you listened and within a few minutes you were finally able to snap out of your mood and enjoy the flowers a bit.
She took you swimming for the first time in Palm Springs a few weeks back.
At the end of the day she just loves you unconditionally. Just like a good mother should. Except she's not just a good mother. She's probably the best.
So let's love her unconditionally too. Let's take her to her favorite vineyards and wine bars.
Let's take her to the sea that she loves.
Let's remind her of how beautiful she is.
Let's remind her of the small details of our journey together and make her smile, laugh and cry. This is right after we lost our Foz Bear. We headed out to Walla, Walla to just get away. It was a long drive and a long day. Everyone was settled in the room and I was getting the last of our things. I laughed as I brought these last three things in. Three things, one for each of my girls. It was a good weekend in Walla, Walla.
But most of our let's just remind her that we love her and appreciate her. And not just on Mother's Day. Let do it every day. She deserve's it.
Thanks Mama. You truly are the best Mama! We love you!
Daddy/Husband