Saturday, March 24, 2007

CAN WE GET REAL FOR A MINUTE?


So Slacker-Mom challenged anyone who basically reads her blog to come up with their own defination of what it is to be a real mom. Gotta love her blog; and I definately love her honesty!!! She's a great read if anyone hasn't read her blog.
So I'm up for the challenge. Just let me brush the Cheerios out of my hair, and get serious for a moment (no one can be serious with cereal in their hair).

So after some thought this is what I came up with:

A real mom is someone that never puts up a fascade that being a mother is always perfect and easy. She doesn't put up aires that her children are perfect in every single way; because she's afraid other's may think she's a failure. She doesn't wear a plastic smile and put on a good show, trying to belittle you for giving your kid a Kit-Kat bar when it clearly didn't come for a wholistic foods store. She doesn't look at other moms and chastizes them for not enrolling their children in prep schools when they were still fetuses.

A real mom is someone that isn't afraid to pull her hair in public when her kids are acting like brats. She is someone who is real and feels. She is someone we can all pick out of a crowd, and sympathsize with because we know exactly how she feels. she is someone that realizes that being a mom is hard work; but it well worth it all.

A real mom is someone who doesn't beat herself up because she wasn't able to uphold all the unrealistic ideals she had about what it would be like having children. She is smart and savy enough to know that "what you think it will be like" and "what it actually is like" are different things. She knows that parenting is like flying by the seat of your pants; and that there is nothing predictable about it!

A real mom always tells her children how wonderful they are. She always find the beauty in a picture her child made, even if it's just scribbles. She loves to hear the songs her kids sing, even if it's off-tune and not American Idol quality. She doesn't care if they dress themselves and they are totally mismatched. All her children's stories are grand, and she always has praise for them because she truly feels pride.

A real mom doesn't look at her body and blame her kids for wrecking it. Although she probably doesn't enjoy her stretch marks and saggier boobs, she realizes that it's just part of having kids. She may not admit it; but part of her feels the honor of having her children, even if she doesn't have the same bod she did when she was 18. A real mom doesn't want to be 18 again anyways.

A real mom refuses to limit what she'll do for her children. She refuses to let her kids down. She always has an ear to lend, as well as a hug and kiss. She always has tons of love to spare.

9 comments:

Maria said...

Oh, yes. I feel you right here next to me in the trenches.

And a big OH, YES to the fact that it is not as easy as I thought it would be. It is so, so much harder, but at the same time, I am a much better person because of it.

Thanks for the excellent post.

Slackermommy said...

Amen! This is probably the best "real mom" post that I've read.

nancy said...

Fantastic. You practically made me cry. In a good way. Everything is SO damn true. Good job. No wait, GREAT job!

Mrs. S. said...

Brilliant..

I love the way you started by "wiping the cheerios from your hair." I think you truly captured it..

Anonymous said...

That is wonderful.
I love that post.
Thank you for sharing that. I guess I am a real mom...as hard as I fight it sometimes....

Em said...

Great post...and wonderful pic of mom and young child at the top!

Anonymous said...

Wow! Beautiful and oh so true.

I just need to work on the not wanting to be 18 again part :)

Anonymous said...

What a great post! I especially identify lately with the part about letting them pick out their own clothes, even if they're mismatched. I've been letting my five-year-old son pick out his clothes on weekends (he wears a uniform to school, no choice there) and his choices rarely "match" as we might consider it. But honestly, I couldn't care less!

Anonymous said...

Bravo! I agree with you 100%. I am glad that I am not the only one who does some of those things... great post!