Ode to mi mama

Having my mom here for five weeks was such a gift! In this time together, I realized how much I've missed being close to my mom (in proximity) and what an incredible lady she is. We were talking about things we love about home (the States) and things we love (and don't love) about Honduras. As we did this little exercise, I realized I'd be saying "goodbye" to Mom today. So, here's my little list (in no particular order) of what I'm (we're) going to miss about this sweet woman who has been our superhero for the last month (and 30 years for me!)

1) Her home-cooking (she found some great recipes online!) gluten-free style
2) Her laugh
3) Chats at night after dinner over good wine
4) Her story-time with Dunnivan--watching her expressions and hearing the love she has for him in her voice
5) Her hugs
6) Her reassurance that we're doing good as new parents
7) Her singing one line of popular songs (however, she knows all the words to children's songs!)
8) Her handiness at changing a diaper (real superwoman trick here--I think she got the job done in like 5 seconds...she was never peed or pooped on...unlike mommy and daddy here)
9) Her endorphin highs after working out at Metta Gym
10) Her book stash
11) Her love for buying gifts for everyone--she's bringing home some beautiful pewter pieces and jewelry!
12) Her Facebook updates and know-how; thanks to her, we were able to share the story of Dunnivan's continued health and progress (this meant many late nights for her)
13) Her willingness (and eagerness) to cuddle with Dunn in the early hours of the morning so that we could get a few extra hours of sleep before the day began
14) Her love for all of our friends
15) Even though she suffered from the crazy heat here, she never complained....she only mentioned she wanted to stay longer
16) Her enthusiasm for horse-backriding (I never knew!)
17) Her abundant energy
18) Our chats together on church and the body of Christ
19) All of her tidbits on comforting a crying baby; here's our conversation in short: "How do you know what to do?" (me) "You don't. You just try everything until something works!"
20) Reminiscing with her about growing up, discovering new stories...and sharing the joy of motherhood with her
21) Her favorite lines that make me cry every time: "Have I told you lately that you've made my life so wonderful?"
22) Her delight in taking all kinds of pictures--and capturing beautiful moments!
23) Her passion for life--she loves every bit of it
24) Her love for us...expressed so deeply in all the big and small things she did for us during this time
25) Her great taste in baby goods--wait 'til you see Dunn's bedroom corner!
26) Her desire to give that supersedes her desire to receive
27) Her ability to cook anything with garlic and make it taste amazing (Brussel sprouts even!)
28) Her heart--she's always thinking about others before herself
29) Her smile
30) Her ability to go with the flow--especially here in a crazy city like Tegucigalpa
31) Her child-like wonder at new things (the sawdust carpets made here only during Easter, how to say something in Spanish like "Cheke leke pancake")
32) Her unconditional love for us...

There's more, but I've got to save something for Mother's Day. God gave me such an amazing mom, and I'm so thankful that she was able to come for the first 5 weeks of our son's life. She made all the difference in us adapting to this "new normal."