A Mother's Day Treat

I've been blessed with years of exciting Mother's Day celebrations.  One of my favorite memories was the year Marty and the kids gave me a shirt that Marty thought said "Surf Mama".

 I remember opening the package and pulling out the shirt, three kids (our youngest wasn't born yet) excitedly waiting with anticipation as I carefully unwrapped the paper on the box, looked at the front of the shirt and became quite confused as I read what was printed on it.

I mouthed the letters out loud.    S-U-R-F  M-A-N-I-A.  ????

Marty excitedly said, "SURF MAMA".

 I looked at the words again.  Surf Mama?  Nope.....

It definitely said, "Surf Mania".  Marty seemed quite surprised.  The kids thought it was great.  I have video footage of me actually wearing the shirt.....so a good time was had by all.

Unfortunately, this year my Mother's Day didn't involve time spent with any of my children.  But I wasn't sad about that, because I am so fortunate to enjoy them throughout the year.

And since I was in Takoma Park, in a lovely Bed & Breakfast, I had the luxury of simply walking down the stairs and having breakfast made for me.......no cooking, no cleaning up, no dog to worry about.  Just a lovely meal with entertaining conversation.  Quite a treat to be sure!


And, since we found ourselves just 4 miles from the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception National Shrine, what better place to celebrate Mother's Day Mass?

The mass was beautiful and, afterwards, all of the Mothers in the church received a special blessing and were presented a flower.

What a lovely gesture!

We spent some time walking through the various shrines in the church.  Each one was unique and absolutely beautiful.  Here are just a few.

Lithuania

Shrine to Our Lady of Czestochowa

Shrine to the Miraculous Medal

We had several hours of driving time ahead of us, so we left soon after Mass to face the crazy drivers on the beltway.  We were nearly home when we found ourselves in a sudden traffic jam.  We presumed that there had been some sort of accident, but then we noticed that there were groups of  people parked and sitting on the side of this major highway.

We knew they weren't waiting for us to arrive, although I was tempted to roll down the window, smile, and wave, just to see if I got some sort of reaction.  We were debating whether or not we should bail off the highway at the next exit, when I spotted a large number of Amish people along the side of the road.

Even the horses were hanging out, as you can see the buggy in the background here.

We never did quite determine what was happening, although I can attest to the fact that there were miles of vehicles going the opposite direction.....fire engines and tractor trailers, lights flashing, sirens peeling, horns blasting.

We realized that this caravan must have just been ahead of us, exited the highway,  re-entered on the opposite side,  and were now driving in a different direction.  And it went on for miles and miles, several highway exits, as a matter of fact.

I could kind of connect the Amish spectators with the John Deere semi's, or the milk trucks, but when I spotted Santa Claus on a firetruck.....I'll admit, I questioned just what in the world was going on here.

To be quite honest, I never bothered to find out what this special occasion involved after I arrived home, but it certainly was entertaining spotting so many people enjoying the day outside, waving at the passing vehicles.

Now, if you can fill me in on the connection between the Amish - Firetrucks - Santa - Tractor Trailers and miles of vehicles, I'll be more than happy to read your observations. I have the feeling that one you blog followers will be able to solve the mystery.

In the meantime, I hope that the moms out there had an equally exciting day, although I think it's going to be difficult to beat this kind of excitement.  But you never know....one of you just may surprise me.

Until next time........