An Imperfect Day For An Imperfect Mom....

Some days I amaze myself...Some days I put my laundry in the oven- Joy Of Mom.com

Mother's Day is one of those days like birthdays that cause a gal to reflect on the job she's doing in life. I realize it's supposed to be greeting cards and potted flowers and all that jazz, but somehow my brain drifts in the direction of a report card every time.

Let's face it. We all start in the same place. I don't care how many books we read. Nothing prepares us for what's about to become of our lives. We spend countless hours washing all things baby in the heavenly flakes of Ivory Snow. Every towel, sock, onesie, receiving blanket and sweater washed, sorted, folded and color coded with love. Four days after the birth, every towel, sock, onesie, receiving blanket and sweater is strewn throughout the house and at one point we find ourselves smelling said laundry to see if it's clean. Eventually we lose all sight of order what so ever in an abyss of diapers, clothes and toys.

Some of us work outside the house. Some of us stay home, but work it is all the same. We often wonder when we'll stop worrying, even though we know the answer is never. We spend countless hours wondering how bad we're screwing up our kid's and quite frankly, some days we don't even like them all that much. And we feel guilty for that.

We watch them grow. Skin their knees. Make mistakes. Break their bones and break their hearts. One day they have children of their own and we smile when they talk to us about parenting as if we were never there. Never parents ourselves and all we can do is sit on the sidelines and hope they let us in the game every once in a while.

I'm a firm believer that our children owe us nothing. We chose to have them and that's a life long job. One that comes without a salary, bonus or pension plan. Sometimes our kids want to fire us and if we're being honest, some days we'd love to quit. Fact is, we're in this together, our kids and us. So on a day like today, I think we can give ourselves a little break.

If any of my children were asked if they were dropped on their heads as a child, the answer would probably be yes. I've accidentally locked them in the car. Watched the total hopelessness of a little boy who's mother had fallen asleep and forgotten to replace a tooth wit a dollar. I didn't always say the right things. I worked a lot. I din't follow up on their homework. I let them watch too much TV. Play too many video games. Eat too much junk food and a million other mistakes along the way.

I was never a perfect mother and I didn't raise perfect children, but I love them every day and through all the doubt and regret there are still four words that remind me today and everyday that every single minute of it is worth it. These four words...
I LOVE YOU MOM

Happy Mother's Day to all the flawed, imperfect, beautiful, awesome Moms out there.
YOU ROCK!



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