Mother's Day 2011

Ever since my mom moved to heaven, Mother's Day has been kind of bittersweet for me.  I think anyone who has lost their mom can identify.  All holidays are hard the first few years, but let's face it -- Mother's Day is for celebrating your mother and when she's no longer here -- well, it just kinda stinks. 
My mom used to have a tea party with her granddaughters every year on the Friday before Easter - it was a highlight for her and the girls.  They spent the morning baking and decorating cookies, then they dressed up, put on their fancy hats and had a tea party. 
A few months ago, Layne asked if I was going to start the tradition of an Eastertime tea party with my granddaughters -- but she wanted to change Grandma's rules in a way that she could be invited.  So after a little discussion, we decided to revive the tea party - on Mother's Day weekend, and that we would invite my sisters and their girls.  It seemed like the perfect tribute to my mom and a way to make Mother's Day a happier time for all of us. 
We had a grand time!  We laughed about what Mom would have liked and disliked - about what she would have approved of and disapproved of -- about how she would have done things vs. the way we did them - and by the end of the day, it was unanimous that this would need to be a yearly tradition. 

We didn't realize until just a few days before that our "hat" event would be the same day as the Kentucky Derby.  After watching the Parade of Hats for the Derby, I thought I would create our own Parade of Hats -- because after all, just as is the case with the Derby, the hats are a big part of what made this so much fun!  Each of our hats was purchased as a "blank canvas" -- the embellishments were ours.

We're already looking forward to next year's tea -- or maybe we're just looking forward to another excuse to make and wear some ridiculously fun hats!  Regardless, I'm thankful for a mom who, among other things, taught us how to laugh and have fun.