What I Really Want for Mother's Day

So I just got back from a stroll/ bicycle ride/ scooter ride through town with all three boys. I could tell by the looks of the people who passed us that perhaps I was crazy, or maybe that was pity in their eyes as I jogged behind the stroller, chasing after Tucker on the scooter and Tanner on his bike, yelling for them to "stay to the left! stay to the left!" The temperature was almost 90, there were no sidewalks, and once you get into town, there's no turning back. Forty-five minutes and two BIG hills later, we were home, sweaty, thirsty, and maybe a little grouchy. Perfect way to start Mother's Day, right?

Every mom knows there are highs and lows, good days and bad ones to being a mom. Today's excursion counted as both, one moment we were having a great time, sampling the honeysuckles and having races, the next we were arguing over which road to turn on. But Mother's Day is supposed to be that one day of the year filled with nothing but Hallmark moments and Kodak smiles. According to the advertisers, we should be opening diamond necklaces, eating at coat and tie restaurants, and having a mani/pedi while listening to Yanni. That's all well and good, but i'm a little more low maintenance and a lot more realistic than that.

Luckily this year, Billy asked me to make out a schedule, hour by hour, of how I'd like to spend my mother's day. No problem, but it got me thinking of what would make a perfect mother's day, not just tomorrow but every day.

1. a loooong run, with no cell phone, no time to be home, and no worry that Tate will have his dirty diaper while in Daddy's care. Daddy has a very weak stomach.

2. a great tan and no more "baby weight" in a swimsuit that i actually like.

3. No spills for a whole day. Especially Kool-aid on a just mopped floor.

4. Laundry-- I don't even mind doing it, but not having to walk through all 12 rooms of this house looking for(and smelling for) what is dirty.

5. Cooking-- I don't mind cooking, but not having any up-turned noses would be great. Tell me that you LOVE Mamwich and Ruffles for supper. Don't ask me what else you can have:(

6. No trampoline-rule breaking. Come on guys, you know the rules. 2 at a time, no wrestling, no pushing or shoving. Keep your clothes on. Don't make me say it again.

7. No neighborhood referreeing. Look, if you can't get along with the kids next door, just don't play with them. Unless there is bloodshed, do I really need to get involved?

8. No Disney channel sitcoms and preferably no references to them either. Zach and Cody are sending our kids to hell in a handbag, and I think i've had enough.

9. Could we just once know where our shoes are when it's time to leave? just once, guys? and speaking of shoes could you tie them on your own???

All that would certainly make my day a little easier, but I never signed up for easy. I signed up to be a Mom and what I really want for Mother's day, oddly enough, is for nothing to change. I wake up every day to snotty, drooly teeth-coming in kisses as i fight with Tucker and Tanner for Tate's attention. He loves his Mom, but Tucker and Tanner are giving me a run for my money. I'm always first to hear the latest elementary school jokes, I have a front row seat to the best sporting events in town, and I never dine alone. Heck, I never do anything alone. And according to their Mother's Day poems and compositions, I'm pretty awesome. So I guess I already have what I really want for Mother's day. They're 9,7, and 10 months old and Hallmark cards and diamonds can't touch what they give me every day.

Thank you, God for the awesome privilege of being Tucker, Tanner, and Tate's mother.