On Being a Mom

The longer I'm a mom, the more I appreciate the moms in my life.  It's not an easy job... it's often thankless, it's messy, it's neverending, and no matter how hard you try you're bound to mess up more often than not.

I think most moms feel that they fail to some extent, but from the outside we can always see the good.  I've talked to my mom often about this, and she has expressed regrets about the way she mothered sometimes.  She was amazing, though.  She taught us to love classical music, and art.  She taught us that we always must do the right thing, and to love the Lord.  She served vegetables with every dinner.  She kept an amazingly clean house with five hoodlums working against her at every turn.

My other mom, Lynda, worries when things don't go exactly as they should, and thinks that it's her fault.  But, she's one of the most wonderful women I know... she cares deeply about every child she has, those that were born to her, and those that she embraced when her kids married them.  She makes special efforts to let us know she's thinking of us, and that she loves us.  She raised wonderful kids, and had astounding patience with one of her sons, which I am grateful for... he turned out to be the wonderful man that I married.

I beat myself up the same way.  I am way too impatient with my kids, and often find myself not listening to them when they're talking to me.  (My mind wanders...)  The house is rarely clean, I haven't taught them all the things I should have, I often miss getting vegetables served with a dinner.  I could go on and on... probably a longer list than most moms could make, but you get the idea.  Yet....

Yesterday Brandon and my kids adopted a dog.  I'm not a dog person, but I love my kids and I want them to be able to look back on their childhood and have memories of loving a pet.  I go to every one of their baseball and softball games that I possibly can go to.  I sit there shivering, wrapped in a blanket with rain coming down, or the wind blowing me over, but I'm there.  I watch through the whole game, even though they lose almost every time.  I want them to know that I care about what they're doing, and I don't care if their team wins, or if they play perfectly.  I go to church with my kids every single week.  The weeks that Brandon works are hard... I don't like to go alone, but I know that this is something that will stick with them their whole lives, just as it has with me and with Brandon... because our parents taught us.

So, here's my challenge to all of you mothers.  Today, on the day celebrating motherhood, think of the good things that you do.  Think of the little successes that you have... and write one of them in the comment section for me, will you?  Mothers Day isn't about celebrating perfection.