Happy Mother's Day!!

Hi gang! I hope you all are having a great Mother's Day, whether you are the Mom or are celebrating it with your mom.


Being a Mom is tough. It is the most difficult thing I have ever done. It makes no matter if you have a child with challenges, all kids have some kind of challenge. I am mostly happy (sounds like one of those survey's you take online "are you less likely, kind of likely, or most likely..) with my relationship with my kids. I remember being maybe 13 or 14 and my Mom telling me "I am your Mother, NOT your friend." I remember the two things I thought at that very second: Uhh...I don't know that I considered you my "friend" and "what a crappy thing to say". Mom made it clear she was there to get me thru life's obstacles but that's where it ended. We spent a lot of time with our parent's but it seems like it was mostly stuff they  wanted to do. As a Mom looking back, there is nothing wrong with that and we MANY great family vacations and times together.


I took the same tact, initially, when I became a Mom. I am here to guide you, feed you, do your laundry and an occasional diorama, but that's where it ends. But as my kids grew, I realized it is okay to be their friend. It doesn't mean they are going to get away with anything, to me it means that I am there to celebrate good times, be sad with them in bad, and to go for the laugh as much as I can. I can put the hammer down as fast as anyone but I prefer to laugh and share the things that make us who we are.


I made it thru my 5k this morning, running all the way. I had been up since 3:30am because I was pondering the upcoming purchase I was about to make. I was perfectly happy with my cell phone until Hubby, more than deservengly, got his Blackberry. I became obsessed with the whole 3 or 4G thing. I am gone so much that the thought of being able to access anything, anytime, anywhere, literally kept me up at night. The race I did was to benefit a 3rd grader in Youngest's school who needs a kidney transplant. Can you imagine? I couldn't, hence why I signed up. Standing there this morning, waiting for the race to start and hear the little boy simply say "Thank You" to the over 500 people there for him, brought me to tears. I ran the whole thing and honestly don't know if it was my best time or not. I didn't care. I was doing this for the little boy and as long as I ran it all, I was satisfied.


During my run, I thought a lot about the phone thing and how ultimately stupid it is when I am running for a child that needs a kidney. How greedy can I be? I should be happy with what I have. So I set in, content to enjoy the view of the river, until I caught a wiff of it and almost threw up. But I did my best and I was happy with that. I was even more happy that Hubby and the boys were there to cheer me on. Nothing keeps my legs moving that my boys cheering me on.


Then I went and got an Iphone 4.


Screech...what??


For a long time, I never felt deserving of anything. I had divorce guilt, challenged child guilt and felt that I didn't deserve anything above and beyond poverty level things. Some time after my birthday last December, this changed. I do deserve to get what I want as long as all the needs and bills are met. I started slow with the waffle maker, then the griddle, then the laptop and now my new Iphone. The best part for me is: everyone in my household is for it. They are thrilled I have what I want and that I can relish in a little self indulgence. The kids see it is vital to keep yourself happy while making every one else happy.


This Mom-hood thing ain't so bad after all.
Have a great Sunday!!


Momma Cat