Mother's Day weekend

Mother's Day falls in March in Britain, so I am always behind and confused when the date rolls around in Canada. My mother will likely spend the day as she does any other, working in the greenhouse and otherwise puttering madly around the property.

This is my favourite photo of my mom, taken when my parents visited me in Scotland in 2006. She is standing in what used to be the moat of Inverlochy Castle, near Fort William. It is late afternoon, the sun is shining beautifully through the leaves, and she is doing a bellydance shimy.
Wonderful things began to happen to my mom around the time she turned 50. She just became more alive, more curious, more passionate about the things that make her happy. For several years she took bellydance lessons, then threw herself completely into her favourite hobby - gardening. She is now the manager of her local farmer's market, and has not one but two greenhouses. Once I watched her digging in the rockbed during a thunder storm, hail pelting down on her as she tried to do just one more row.

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers and women who dedicate themselves to caring for children. You work too hard. Have a wee sit down and a cup of tea.