To All the Moms Who Have Gone Before Me

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I never know when inspiration will strike. That’s why I have about 10 sticky notes in my purse at any time, covered with brilliant (!) ideas or things my kids have said.

Or just covered with the grocery list. Whatevs.

One such note I pulled out the other day seemed appropriate to share as Mother’s Day approaches. It’s an incomplete, haphazard list of some things I’m thankful for that were changed, made better, started, and/or developed by mothers who came before me.

And to all of those moms I express my thanks!

***

Thank you for the lactation room at work.

Thank you for paid leave after the birth of my children.

Thank you for Baby & Me groups.

Thank you for telling me to go to the Baby & Me groups.

Thank you for the microwaveable bottle cleaner.

Thank you for before- and after-school care.

Thank you for flex-time.

Thank you for telling me to throw the underwear away after my child pooped in it.

Thank you for all the advice you’ve given me and not judging me when I don’t follow it.

Thank you for juice boxes.

***

What’s something you are thankful for that was started or changed by the moms who have come before you?

Happy Mother’s Day!

 

Image courtesy of digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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May 9, 2013 By 8 CommentsFiled Under: good mom, holidays Tagged With:

I Got A Rock

Remember this infamous scene from “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown“?

“I got five pieces of candy!”
“I got a chocolate bar!”
“I got a quarter!”
Charlie Brown: “I got a rock.”

Well, I got a rock for Mother’s Day.

And I love it!

Actually, I got several rocks and some awesome bits and pieces that my daughter Sydney, 5, collected for me. About 2 weeks before Mother’s Day, she started bringing treasures home in her pockets. She scolded me for trying to look at these treasures. Working diligently, she stored and hid the treasures in a small box until she presented me with the collection for Mother’s Day.

You’ll see I received rocks, some feathers, a spring, leaves, seeds, and a snakeskin (a weathered piece of plastic grocery bag, but –shh!– don’t tell Sydney that’s what it is).

I love it all.

What have your kids given you or made for you lately?

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May 16, 2012 By 12 CommentsFiled Under: presents, Sydney Tagged With: , , , , , ,

What I Don’t Want for Mother’s Day

Mother’s Day is this weekend and everywhere I go I’ve been bombarded by ads for jewelry, flowers, spa treatments, books, and what not. I really don’t care what my kids get me for Mother’s Day. Well, that’s not entirely true. I do care enough to hope that it’s NOT any of these:

1. A meal at Hooter’s

Great idea, honey! I've always wanted to go to Hooter's on my special day!Really? What am I supposed to say:  Thanks, kids! I love my free wings and don’t pay any attention to the scantily clad woman with huge ta ta’s serving them! No, I could think of no place I’d rather avoid on Mother’s Day than Hooters.

2. A meal I have to plan and/or cook

That’s no fun. That’s reality.

3. A long cleany thingy for the cobwebs in the corner of my ceilings

photo source

I need this, really I do. But I don’t want it wrapped up with a big bow for Mother’s Day. My husband’s a clean freak, so he might actually be excited to get this for Father’s Day.

4. What my mother always wanted for Mother’s Day

I’m the middle of 3 girls. We were all born within 5 years. Growing up, whenever we asked our mom what she wanted for Mother’s Day, she always replied seriously, “I just want you all to get along for the day.” Then she sighed loudly. I could never give her what she wanted, mostly because my sisters were buttheads, so I’m certainly not asking the impossible of my children.

What about you? Is there anything you’d rather not receive on Mother’s Day?

P.S. My sisters weren’t really buttheads!

 

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May 11, 2012 By 7 CommentsFiled Under: holidays Tagged With: , ,