Happy Mother's Day

Today is the day to honor mothers.  Your mother, your first teacher, your first protector, your first and best fan. Mothers come in all shapes and sizes, all socioeconomic, educational, and 'normal-ness' levels.  We don't get to choose our family.  Sad, but true.  If we could, we would probably choose incorrectly, anyway.

When we are little, we don't think that God has mismatched us, even if your mom is way bizarre.  We think the mother we have is the best there is.  It is only later that we begin to see the flaws, the deficits, the embarrassing behaviors. It is then that we wonder if we were switched in the hospital or found on our folks' front step.  This usually occurs when the kid is a teen.  

I guess that is why moms are so nostalgic about the days when their children are babies or toddlers or preschoolers.  It is a magic time, a time when love is the most talked about thing of the day, when heroes bake cookies and a bath can soothe all troubles.  It is a time when Mom is the center of a world that she creates with her babies.  One day, it is a castle, the next, a veterinary clinic, the next, a schoolroom.  And day after day, hour after hour, the foremost thought that the mom has is about the kids' well being; clean clothes, good food, dry diapers, adequate rest, safe toys, the list goes on and on.  It becomes an entrenched, critical and consuming lifestyle, necessary to raising kids well and safely.

And then, seemingly overnight, the kids begin fending more for themselves.  Then, they begin to find fault. It is a necessary transition for them to separate from that most intimate and dependent of all relationships, but it is difficult and usually not handled diplomatically.  History is filled with legends and stories of strife between kids and parents.  When we are old enough, though, it is time to overcome the separation battles and try to recapture the magic.  Your mom is still there, ready and willing to be a friend again, if not a queen or a dragon or a Transformer...