I can hardly believe it, but come this December I will have officially been on the job as mom for 19 years. I haven't counted the number of diapers I've changed or the bottles and boobs I've nourished with. Well okay, I only used the same two boobs, but you know what I mean.
Today is MOTHER'S DAY!!!!
It's the hyped up holiday brought to you by HALLMARK CARDS. I'm not complaining really, its nice to be recognized, but it'd be great to be appreciated the other 364 days out of the year when your up to your eyeballs in laundry and the countless to-do lists brought to you by the fruit of your womb. You know those 364 days when they don't feel obligated to buy that HALLMARK CARD or take you out to get your nails done. Come on, I know you're feelin' me.
Gregg is my near 19 year old man-child. The dude's been quite the 'experience' as far as sons go. I LOVE MY BUBBY. But one of the many attributes he has going for him is his ridiculous desire to shock people --- HARDCORE! He wants to challenge the mind visually and contextually. He's also stinking hilarious. On most days, at least once, I am dropped to my knees by something he has said. He challenges everything --- political views, religious hierarchy, musical tastes and trends of fashion. This young man takes nothing at face value but loves gazing at faces filled with BOTOX. He is an oxy-moron. And no, that isn't a subliminal jibe at my son. He can out-think and out-wit most people. He is well liked by his teachers and adored by most of my adult friends. The others he scares the proverbial crap out of. 19 years is a long time to stick with one job. But I think he's been worth the effort. He is a like water --- effervescent, always moving and a force that must be reckoned with. Gregg has many naysayers though. He's been written off by youth pastors because he didn't comply to their program, had some really difficult questions that couldn't be answered in the typical GOD IN A BOX way, and then, to put the cherry on top of the sundae, when time to pray and listen --- well, my boy heard crickets! Yeah, CRICKETS!
So what's this mom to do? Tremble in fear? Shake down the youth pastors for such limited narrow vision? DEMAND that the crickets talk GOD-SPEAK!!?? Nope. Not a chance. I am absolutely sure of one thing. This man-child has a purpose for being on this blue ball in the sky. He has a journey to make. I don't know how that will take shape but I have seen just a glimpse of the man he is becoming --- powerfully perceptive, hard-working, incredibly intelligent, intuitive, creative and not willing to put up with crap! He is intense. He does challenge the status quo. But he is so worth the effort.
Savvy. Well, I blogged about her a couple of days ago so I don't want to bore you with my redundancy but, she is my girl that is itching to start her own life. She has the guy and they have the dream. (See the pics above) She wants to start now. NOW! As you can see she is so very beautiful. She can make my heart swell like the ocean. She can also p*ss me off so badly that I want to forcefully borrow some of that long brown hair from atop her head. (I'm keepin this real people) Thankfully, that doesn't occur very often but when it does --- STAND BACK. LOL. Gregg says we can square off like no two others. I don't really get why it is that way with her. Maybe its because we are so much alike or maybe I just want so much for her that it scares me how fast the world could eat her alive. She's itty bitty teeny wheeny --- THE WORLD ISN'T. I marvel at how she can argue her way around the bush and back though. The girl has a mind like a steel trap. Seriously, she could probably convince the POPE to wear leather pants!!!! You want this girl on your team if it involves taking a stand for a cause you believe in. I know I want her on my team --- FOR LIFE.
Jaelyn is my baby. She is, as they say, DOPE. A fearless performer who suffers occasional panic attacks. Go figure. She has no patience for boys and their head games. Can I get an AMEN! She isn't long suffering at all when it comes to play acting stupid. The girl will shoot the truth straight through your heart! She works with the special needs kids at school and that makes me so very proud of her. She also adores her daddy immeasurably. Yeah, she's got her dreams of entertaining millions, but at the end of the day, she'd probably be happy being a dentist --- just as long as she doesn't have to live but a short distance from home. :-) We've told her that she is the character played by Joan Cusack in Raising Helen --- a natural born mother who is strong yet nurturing. We think we'll keep her around. She was our surprise baby. And there has never been a day where she hasn't surprised us. Like today for instance. She came home and was suddenly taller than her mother. YIKES! No kidding.
Today on this HALLMARK holiday, I've walked down memory lane. I've been thinking back to some of the funnier moments that have occurred with my kids. Moments like when I scared Gregg half out of his wits when he was just about 10 years old. Or the time when he decided to scare Savannah with a fake spider on a string while she was showering. And then Savvy, attempting to deliver pay-back, nearly breaking her head and the tub faucet lying in wait for Gregg to exit that same shower.
I've been reminded of the harder moments as well --- Gregg begging God to heal him as he lay in agony with his first migraine that required a hospital visit. Or Savvy fighting 3 strains of Salmonella at once. Jaelyn battling OCD with Anxiety after my best friend, Kim, passed away of Melanoma. You know the much harder less talked about times of motherhood.
I've thought about my dad today --- how he called Savvy his little princess and Jaelyn his poogie puss. I've remembered my mom and her incessant worrying over each and every single grandchild she has been blessed with. Yep, there are so many memories we mom's can conjure up on a day like today. I won't keep you any longer with mine. I'm sure if your a mom, you have plenty of your own to muddle through.
"MOM!!!?????" Yep, right on cue........
So in honor of Mothers Day I celebrate the best gifts I have ever received --- my three kids. I can always count on the unexpected, lots of laughs and the occasional hug that doesn't come with an alterior motive. LOL.
How does it work in your house?
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