Sunday, September 2, 2007

The true definition of a mom

okay, this is something I posted a long time ago ( okay so February feels like a long time ago) on my myspace blog and I feel since my page is private it should be shared here also... Please forgive my spelling errors in this one.

The definition of a Mom:

The definition of a mom is undefinable. You are everything in the world to your children. You are the soccer coach, band teacher, dance instructor, world renowned chef, nurse and doctor, chauffeur/taxi driver, boo boo kisser, photographer, and all around mean at times. Which they will remind you of on the occasion you do tell them no. Yet, no matter what you are their mom. Something that no one else could be, something that can never be replaced in their heart no matter how many times they tell you they hate you when they get older.

You are the referee, the loser of board games, the artist, the person they run to when they need a hug. You are their world as much as they are yours. You are their first love, the hip they attach themselves to, the maid that teaches them how to clean their own rooms and do their own dishes and laundry. You are the police officer that makes sure they obey the laws, so the real police don't arrest them for something. You teach them everything that is important in the world, and how to survive if they needed to, but are still the shoulder they can always cry on. The shirt they can bury their face in or wipe their boogers on .You are their protector and their teacher. You give them the world no matter how much of the world you know you will never see yourself. You give up a night out with the girls to take them bowling instead, you give up the new pair of jeans you are dying for so they can have new shoes or the video game, transformer, or barbie doll they have been dying to have. You love them no matter how many gray hairs they give you. No matter how many CD Roms get shoved into the printer, or DVDs end up in the VCR, or how many times you have to lock the bathroom door so they don't dance or " take a bath " in the toilet that you clean daily because of the new obsession with the bathroom in general.

No matter what you try to be better, because you feel they deserve to have the best mommy in the world, which is more than even their best friend could ever offer them, although they will deny this around the age of 12, and remember it again around the age of 16.

You have Green eggs and ham, if you give a mouse a cookie, take a mouse to school, give a pig a pancake, a moose a muffin, brown bear brown bear and good night moon memorized, and cant wait for the day they can read them back to you, or ask you who Edgar Allen Poe and Shakespeare were. Tell them Aesop's fables and hope they eventually learn the lesson to be taught. Want to tell them about the titans and how even the Greek god's were afraid of them.
You expose them to the Beatles and pink Floyd to show them classic rock, while listening to Rock-in around the clock, or Mozart. You listen to Kenny Chesney, Montgomery gentry, brooks and Dunn and Scream " That's Something to be proud of ..." while driving in the car, and then jam out to Merle haggard or Johnny cash, or the Disney remixes CD clapping along with the Ba-ha men singing " its a small world after all" thinking how you remember this being the most annoying song played at Disney world. You want them to be independent and make their own decisions, while trying to keep them from growing up too fast. Hold on to Santa Claus, the tooth fairy, and the Easter bunny, and the fairy tales you share now, hoping they hold on to the memories of the things you tell them. You accept the fact that nothing is sacred other than your children and spending time with them, and that there is no alone time, including taking a bathroom break or shower. Because once they hear that door close little fingers stick under the door and shout out " mom mom" , or a fully clothed child is climbing into the shower with you, that the shower wakes even the deepest sleeping child. That the baby gate that used to be your saviour is now the jungle gym they climb over.

That baby bottle dishes and sippy cups are more important than the pan you plan on using to cook dinner in that night. That doing laundry at midnight is normal, and you don't mind because you spent the day enjoying your children. No matter how insane you feel some days you know you would never give up the fact that you are their mommy. You no longer have to go to the bathroom or pee, you go to the potty, but no longer have a potty mouth and have resorted to Sugar Honey Iced Tea, and fudge and dang it vs the latter. Because they will repeat everything you have to say.

That the news is never on, and you only get to watch your shows when they go to bed, you have the theme songs to blues clues, Dora the explorer , go Diego go, the wiggles, higglytown heros and jojo's circus stuck in your head at any given time, but you also know when smurfs, snorks and tom and jerry is on on boomerang or cartoon network, because you remember watching them when you were little Your set reminders are usually these shows or Transformers at 6:30 am because your son is obsessed with them. You have the premium cable channels not so you can watch MTV 2, but so you have access to 2 nickelodeon and 2 disney channels, 5 cartoon channels and noggin so they can watch dragon tales or barney at midnight when no one feels good or is ready to sleep, have a bad dream or just want to cuddle with their mommy on the couch, your PPV orders consist of the latest Disney movie, pixar movie, or dream works movie, and are okay with that. The ring tones on the phone are the ones your kids picked out and asked you to download, if your lucky you can claim one or two of them as your own.

You smile when someone tells you how wonderful your children are, because even on a bad day you know how wonderful they are, but you are the only one ( with a few exceptions) that can tell people they just hide their horns well, or that the halo they are wearing for the day is being supported by their horns.

Vacations are family trips to Disney world, or to the beach, there are no romantic getaways, but watching their eyes light up at the sight of mickey mouse or real waves is more full - filling than a night away by yourselves. Dinner with Cinderella and her prince charming is more special than a candlelit dinner, because it is a fairy tale brought to life. Getting a free cookie at Epcot center for your sons birthday is more special than roses on any day. Walking into the all star movie resort, or Putting a tent up at fort wilderness and hearing your son tell you that you are staying at Mickey Mouse's house means more to you than a 5 star resort any day.

" NO" is part of your daily vocabulary, and its okay with you. You smile when you hear their giggle. You know when they are doing something they shouldn't be, just because they have been quiet for more than 5 minutes, crayon on the wall is okay because it cleans better than marker, or pen, playdoh does eventually come out of carpet, and you know the precise way and wait time for this to happen successfully. It is not unusual to find broken crayons in the vacuum, or hidden under a bed. That when people ask about your little shadows you tell them they are your pride and joy, and if they weren't your shadows how would they learn right from wrong?

You know the consequences of too much sugar or soda, and you know when they have had enough before it gets to that point. You are used to finding things in your bed that don't necessarily belong there, and only make your bed once a day versus the 500 times you could have made it because someone decided to play hide and seek under the covers of your freshly made bed, repeatedly. You vacuum every day, and for every hug they give each other there is a smack, bite, or punch in their somewhere. But nothing could feel better than the hugs they give you and the love they show you.

No matter what you love them, will do anything and everything for them, and know its your job, but are okay with it, and love getting up and going to work everyday, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, and would not change it for the world. Because without you, they would be covered in chocolate or spaghetti sauce, they would beat each other up all day, they would not have clothes to wear, without you they would not know what a mothers love is.

You are their teacher, nurse, doctor, maid, chef, personal driver, channel changer, allowance giver, soccer and baseball coach, personal trainer, dance partner, photographer, memory keeper, booger wiper, swing pusher, the one who punishes them when they need it, their shoulder to cry on, the cuddler of cuddlers, the hugger of huggers, but most important of all You are their mommy, and will always be their mommy, and no one can replace that.

cassandra J columbo - 2/12/07

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