*Mother's Day is sort of a weird holiday. Not necessarily "bad" or anything. But like Chris said in his post, wouldn't it be nice if we just celebrated the people who add so much to our lives on a spontaneous basis? You know, my heart and mind do this...I come up with all these wonderful ideas I want to surprise a friend with, or Gray's teacher with, or my mom with...but life gets away from me and so often these wonderful gestures of love and appreciation live only within me. My Mother's Day Resolution: Bring more of these ideas to life, because really, what could be a more important use of my time than letting the people in my life know I love them.
*Chris!!! I love that picture of you and your mom so much!!! (It wasn't there on your post when I read it last night, or I would have mentioned in my email.) Your mom is so beautiful, and you two look so sweet and happy! Oh, I just adore that picture so much that it has been tucked safely away in my "favorite photos I steal from friends" folder on my computer. :P
*It should *not* be snowing on Mother's Day. That's just wrong.
*When people call me a "good mom" I sort of feel like a fraud. I feel like I should tell them, "Well, you didn't see the way I totally broke down in tears of frustration because Annie's been lazy about finishing her school assignments on time lately" or "Well, you didn't see the way I totally lost my cool and yelled at Max the other day" or "If I'm such a good mom, why do so many people seem to blame me for Gray's 'problems'?" I don't know if I'm a "good mom" or not. I'm a mom who loves her kiddos so much it's painful at times; I'm a mom who wants each of her kiddos to grow up to be whoever it is he or she wants to be; I'm a mom who at times probably sacrifices more than I should--and that isn't a good thing; I'm a mom who makes mistakes on a daily basis; I'm a mom who knows how to say "I'm sorry" to her kids when those mistakes involve them; I'm a mom who hugs and cries and listens and laughs and talks and yells and cheers; I'm a mom who says "I love you" all the time--not out of habit but out of overwhelming emotion. Am I good mom? I don't know. It seems like such a big label to live up to, you know. But whether I ever live up to it or not, I know I'll keep striving.
*I get a bit uncomfortable judging other people's parenting. And yet even so, there are times when it just seems undeniable that someone is a bad parent--be it out of pathological selfishness or apathy or mental illness or physical illness or any number of other reasons, some totally out of that person's control and some very much within their control. Anyway, I can't help but wonder how sad Mother's Day must be for some people...those people who didn't get to grow up in a home with a mom who loved and cherished and respected them for who they were.
--Okay, and now I'm going to abruptly run off here. A couple of little boys have awoken, and are giggling away in the next room. And this mom totally wants to go join them.
Happy Mother's Day!
Debi, I assure you that you are one of the best mother's I know. And I'm not saying this just to blow up your ego. I'm saying it because it's the truth. You have to remember that you're also HUMAN!!!! No one is ever going to obtain perfection...it's not going to happen. And those munchkins have their own personalities and are going to make their own decisions regardless of how you raise them and sure you're going to lose your temper and break down in tears sometimes. Heaven knows I brought my poor mom into a pool of tears so so many times :( And it had nothing to do with her. She was (and is) a wonderful mom. And so are you!!!
ReplyDeleteI'm so with you on what mother's day represents to so many other people. That's why I really hate the holiday and I didn't want to post that publicly on my blog. So many kids DON'T have a good mother :( And so many mothers are incapable of truly being a mother for their children and what a sad holiday it must be for them. Or for people who just don't have a mom at all. It's one of the reasons I don't like holidays like this and father's day and valentine's, etc. That and because, like you said, I want to try to spread that love year around!
And finally, I just happened to find that picture of me and my mom last night while I was searching my blog for a full picture of the image my header comes from for Jeane. It's from my graduation in 2007...so I thought I'd add it to the post as it seemed fitting :)
Chris,
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you stumbled across that photo, because I absolutely love it! :D
And thanks for your kind words, my friend. I swear I wasn't looking for compliments, though I'm sure you knew that. Maybe parenthood is just one of those things that makes you doubt yourself no matter what you do.
i saved the pic of chris and his mom too! LOL I hope we don't get arrested for stealing! lol
ReplyDeleteI couldn't (didn't) do half as much as you do as a mom! geez! Hope you had a special day no matter what!