Mommy

Lately I've been hearing a lot of mom commentary.  For example, on the news the other day they were talking about how child care expenses are so high that it's forcing some women to stay at home.  There was that lady who said something about how Ann Romney wouldn't be a good first lady because she "never worked a day in her life."  Ann responded by saying raising five boys was pretty hard work.  Tom and I were watching "The Iron Lady" (loved it!) on Friday night and the main character, Margaret Thatcher, said something about not wanting to spend her life cleaning tea cups.  Today in church one of the speakers was talking about a dedicated mother, whom she respected. 

Last night I ran a quick errand after the boys went down and on the way home I started feeling all warm and fuzzy about having the privilege to be a mom.  Sometimes I get frustrated about not having a life of my own.  I miss teaching.  I miss being able to really train for races.  Truth be told, I miss going to the bathroom by myself.  (Now I know why my mom told us that we weren't aloud to talk with her while she was in the bathroom unless we were bleeding or the house was on fire.)  

Over the past week, I've been reminded about how blessed I am to be the mother of my two boys and also to be able to stay at home.  Honestly, I really don't do much more than "clean out a tea cup" but I know that as I do all those mundane things (laundry, diapers, dishes, etc), I'm teaching my boys about the importance of serving each other and showing them that I love them.  Even though I'm missing out on some of the things that are important to me, I'm grateful that for now I get to share in the important moments of my boys.  

I have an awesome aunt who lives in our same town.  Her kids, my cousins, are away at school.  They are two of the most well adjusted, positive, hard working and fun people I know.  She has always been a great sounding board for me and when I talk about the stresses of having little kids, she always tells me that she'd trade places with me in a second.  Isn't it great to have someone to put things into perspective and remind you to enjoy each stage of life?  Even though her kids are grown, she is still continually serving them with patience.  One day she told me that she has learned not to push when she wants them to talk with her; she provides opportunities where they feel comfortable sharing and then patiently waits.  What a great example!  My mom is that way too.  I love that she has never stopped mothering me.

Tyler loves lining things up.  The other day I was cleaning the kitchen and he called me into the living room.  "LOOK WHAT I DID MOM!!!"  He was so proud of himself for fitting all the blocks on the fireplace in neat rows.  We were at the park on Friday and someone left a little trike.  He has had a hard time peddling his own trike.  He worked and worked and finally started peddling the one he found at the park.  He started shrieking with joy, "MOM!! I'm peddling!!!"  We took a little video to send to Daddy and Tyler said something like, "Daddy will be so proud of me."  I know it's silly but I'm getting a little teary eyed just thinking about how blessed I am that I could share that moment with Tyler.   

Don't you love Mikey's little gap teeth?  He has been talking nonstop lately.  The other day I said, "Whew! Doggies!!" when he did something well.  He then spent the rest of the day saying, "Whew Goggies!  Whew Goggies!"  This week his favorite word has been "Daddy."  He says it all day but when Tom comes home he says, "Daaaaaddy!  Daaaaddy!"  Earlier this week, he and Tyler thought saying the word "Day" to each other was fun and spent an entire car ride repeating it, "DAY!  DAY!"  Then Tyler would say, "Mommy, we're saying day!"  I love being Mommy.