Hide n Seek

      When my kids were really young, I think my daughter may have been 12 and my son 7, I got the best Mother's day gift. I returned home from a trip to Vegas with my girlfriends and they were so happy to see me. I enjoyed my trip but I was really happy to be back home to see their smiling faces. My daughter has always been a creative child so she sent me on a small scavenger hunt which led me to a beautiful handwritten letter and a note attached to our BOOMBOX that said 'Play Me'. As I pushed play Boyz II Men's 'MAMA' began to play. As I sat on the edge of my tub and read her letter the tears began to flow. It was so beautiful and I never expected that to come from her.

Well today, they did it to me again. I can't believe I didn't know what was going on. This time, 10 years later it was my son that got me. I never expected him to be so creative. Follow along now:

     "MA!", my daughter yells. "Come here!"

     "Do I have to?" I yell from the bottom of the stairs.

     "Yes, I want you to look at something."

     "Oh, you're editing pictures, are those from the wedding?"

     "Yea, just click and look at them all, I'll be right back."

     "Alright, but you better hope my food doesn't burn 'lil girl."

     She goes into the bathroom and I click away looking at each picture that she has on the screen.

     "MA!, she yells from the bathroom, read that folded up piece of paper on the keyboard."

     I look around to see what she is talking about and find a piece of paper that says "OPEN". I open it and it reads. 

 (I love you a lot oh yes I do, look under your computer monitor for your first clue.)

"Lil girl, what is this, and is this your brother's handwriting?"

"Mom I don't know," she yells. "I just know it's for you."

I look under the computer monitor and find another note. 

(Your Clue lies where all backs are cleaned.)

I look around the room and instantly I know that it has to be leading me to the bathroom. I mean where else do we clean our backs right? I look around for another piece of paper. I search the sink, then the tub, my makeup table, top of the shelves, inside the shower. "Dammit," I say to myself, "I don't see anything in here. Lil girl, there's nothing in here...or am I just blind? What the heck is going on. are you guys trying to punk me?"

     "Ma what does it say?"

     "You know what it says, you guys wrote it." I say with a smirk on my face.

     "Mom, I have no idea what it says, your boy child did this." I show her the note and she just looks at me like I'm crazy. "Perhaps it's the shower mom."

     "I looked in the shower and I don't see ANYTHING." I go back to the bathroom and pull back the shower curtain again. I look low, I look high and in the very top compartment of the shampoo holder is another piece of paper. I let out a small laugh, I thought it was a thin piece of soap. I was staring at it the whole time. 

(Now you see where there are dirty backs, your next clue lies where you relax.)

     Now I'm getting excited!, this one is easy right...RELAX, this has to be the bed. Only problem is....I have about 20 decorative pillows on my bed, not to mention the two I sleep on and I neglected to make my bed this morning. So, you can imagine me trying to find a small piece of paper in a king sized bed, that hasn't been made with 20 pillows on it. OH GOD, I can't find the stupid clue! After sitting on the couch for a moment, I get up and search again.

     "Ma, are you having a hard time?" my daughter laughs.

     "It's not funny 'lil girl. You shouldn't taunt an old lady like this."

Finally I find the piece of paper, hidden up under one of the pillows. and it reads...

(Open this up, here's another clue love, I'm afraid your next clue is in Xavier's glove.)

"Xavier!" I yell. "Who the hell is Xavier and why does he have a baseball glove in my house?"

I think about the clue and go to my son's room thinking I needed to find a baseball glove, or a football glove when it hit me. Xavier isn't a person...IT'S MY EXPEDITION. I named him Xavier...don't ask why, I just thought it fit. So I go ALLLLLLL the way downstairs, outside to my truck that has been sitting up for months because it needs a new engine and I open the GLOVE compartment. I'm happy because I found my next clue...

(WOW, you're smart witout a doubt, you will find your prize in the fish's mouth)

"FISH!, we don't have any fish...what the...." 

I'm standing in the hallway, baffled. I have no idea what this kid is talking about. I know there's nothing like that in my room or my bathroom. I go to the kid's bathroom and look around. "Nope, no fish in there."

Now I'm really confused then I remember my son bringing home a ceramic fish that his anatomy teacher gave him. I run to his room and search everywhere that  fish might be. NOTHING!. Now I"m really frustrated. I look under the bed, in the closet, in the drawers, on the desk, behind the TV....that fish is nowhere to be found. I go back to the doorway and look around the room. I glance at the window and there sitting 7 feet high is the damn fish on the wooden curtain rod. Now how the heck does he expect me to reach that, I'm only 5'7". I manage to pull the note out of the fish's mouth and I read the clue...

     (Sadly your prize couldn't fit in here but don't be mad, don't you fear. It's locked away in a place, in your closet I hope it's safe.)

AHHHH HA, I know this one. There's a safe in my closet so I know I'll find it pretty quickly. There tucked away safely is a beautiful bouquet of red roses...a dozen. Attached to it is the most heart felt letter that I had ever received from him. I sat on my sofa holding my flowers and tears flowed down my face AGAIN as I read the words that my son had written. 

   "Happy mother's day mom. I really appreciate you and everything you do for me. You always support me and no matter what you never give up on me. You have been my #1 fan since I started playing football. You help me even when I tell you not to. You have impacted my life so much and I look up to you as a role model. I may not have any money to buy you a gift but when I get older, I will make it up to you. You taught me to finish what I started and to achieve my goals and not to let others get in the way. Honestly  I never liked football until I saw that it was something I could do that you could be proud of. I love you and always will. Happy Mother's Day."

This made my day, week, month year. I'm joyful that my kids feel that I've impacted their lives, but truthfully, they've  impacted mine in ways that they could never imagine. They are my strength, and even though they feel like they don't know what they would do without me...the truth is....I know it would be hard to face a day if I didn't have them.

Happy Mother's Day 2014