I was born in the 1970s.
The early 1970s, which today seems positively
medieval.
We got spankings. Hours upon hours of the day went by
with out a single children's television program on the air.
And if you sucked at something, not only did you not
get a trophy, but your teacher, or your coach, or maybe even your mom told you
so. Told you so and then told you that you were a big girl and needed to stop
all that ridiculous crying.
As for "just showing up," that was what you
were supposed to do, and you weren't going to get any goddamn award for it.
But now, looking at these coddled millennials, not to
mention my own brats cherubs, I feel cheated.
I want to be not only acknowledged, but actively
celebrated, for all the mundane and dutiful shit we moms do. Every. Day.
I mean, come on people, don't these things deserve some recognition?
1. We took two kids trick-or-treating.
When it was 40-degrees, gale-force winds and SLEETING.
2. We eat their Halloween candy in
moderation. That’s why it’s still here!
3. When a few pieces of candy turned
our kids into a couple of rioting prisoners, we reacted calmly instead of
screaming.
4. We cobble together great, healthy
dinners with stuff we have in our pantry.
5. When our house looks like a crime
scene, we at least try to remain loving and kind, before screaming, “Do I look
like the maid to you?!!”
6. We managed to take twenty-minute nap
today. With one kid at home.
7. We remembered to order the kids new
snow boots. Before the first major snow!
8. We turned off the TV/iPad/X-box when
we said we would.
9. We exercised today by involving our
kids. Sure, we only burned off three tic-tacs, but how our effort was completely magazine-worthy!
10.
We tried a new recipe, and everyone asked for seconds!
11.
We arranged a playdate with that girl our daughter
loves, the one whose mother is a huge "rhymes with glitch."
12.
We grit our teeth and left the house with our daughter
in an outfit so garish our ego is bruised and our eyes are practically
bleeding.
13.
We got off Facebook and played with our children. And
then got back on when they stopped playing fair.
14.
We cleaned the fridge. And only bitched about it a
little.
15.
We finally downloaded all those photos onto the
computer.
16.
We put our phone/keys/wallet in the right place.
17.
We left enough time to get where we needed to go.
18.
We packed enough food for everyone. Including
ourselves.
19.
We remembered to ask them to go to the bathroom,
before getting on the road.
20.
We had some alone time.
21.
We trusted our gut, and got them out of harm's way.
FAST.
22.
We let them cook/clean with us, even though it made
that ten-minute task take 90.
23.
We remembered to call Great Aunt So-and-so.
24.
We answered with a firm "no," and put it out
of our head.
25.
We finally read that book.
26.
We found "him" on Facebook, and realized he
isn't, and probably never really was, all that and a bag of chips.
27.
We stopped complaining to your friend and did
something about whatever "it" is.
28.
We went to bed early for once.
29.
And woke up ready to take on the world.
30.
We drank more water than yesterday.
31.
We wrote.
32.
We meditated.
33.
We paid bills.
34.
We saved money.
35.
We let it go (and didn’t even think about the song).
36.
We checked several items off our to-do list.
37.
We spoke our mind.
38.
We brought more whole foods into our diet, bonus for not
spending your whole paycheck at the store of the same name.
39.
You learned something new.
40.
We got rid of stuff we don't wear anymore, bringing
our closet out of 1999 and up to maybe 2010.
41.
We forgave.
42.
We danced, just because.
43.
We stopped caring so much about what everyone else
thinks.
44.
We finally cleaned out the fridge and cabinets.
45.
We walked there instead.
46.
We ordered it on the side. And used it sparingly.
47.
We went on a date.
48.
We got organized.
49.
We sent a thank you.
50.
We realized we don’t have to be perfect to be amazing.
Now it's your turn!
Why do you deserve an award?
Now it's your turn!
Why do you deserve an award?
No comments:
Post a Comment