Mother’s Day

Personal Note: Epilogue on Mother’s Day (just sharing)

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The following are a couple of paragraphs I wrote as part of my Mother’s Day tribute to “Super Moms”, which unfortunately is still a work in progress.  They didn’t make the ‘final cut’ but I thought I’d share them nonetheless, in the hopes they might make you laugh:

When my children were small, I jokingly dubbed myself “Super Mom.” It is one of those family traditions that assumed a life of its own. It began when I’d locate a missing article of clothing, bring the homework left behind to school, have the correct clothing washed and ready to go on the appointed day, or cook a favorite meal; But mostly it centered around meeting an endless stream of demands simultaneously and successfully – with relative ease (not!). I would prod the children into calling me “Super Mom” in the spirit of the Ghostbuster’s jingle: “Me: who ya’ gonna call – Them: ‘Ghostbusters!'” Initially my prompting was met with the grudgingly, monotonous chorus of “thank you Super Mom.” But over time the kids voluntarily conferred the honor when the occasion necessitated it. They even adopted the moniker themselves, erupting in triumphant shouts of “Super _” – followed by their respective names – when they prevailed over a formidable challenge with relative ease. Super Dad even got in on the action!

Super Anne & Super Ty in superhero stance!

Super Anne & Super Ty in superhero pose!

Several years ago, my kids found the perfect Mother’s Day gift – a “pajama-gram” containing a set of Super Mom pajamas, complete with the requisite blue and white starry bottoms and a red top with a Super Mom emblem emblazoned across the chest. Since my husband was working on this occasion, the kids and I thought it would be funny to text him a picture of me ‘in cameo’ – complete with ‘bed head’, no makeup, and in characteristic, super hero stance. Basking in a self-congratulatory coup of our own cleverness, we fired off the text to my husband. Almost instantaneously my daughter got a horrified look on her face when she realized our message was sent to the wrong recipient – my older son’s baseball coach! As we fumbled around helplessly trying to “recall” the text, the response was signalled by a melodious ringtone and the words: “Any mom that keeps the team’s books is a ‘Super Mom’ to me!” Much to my kids’ angst, I have relayed this story countless times over the years because the coach’s response was classic. The following Mother’s Day I sent the coach a reassuring text, noting his undoubted relief at learning I had received flip-flops instead of pajamas as a gift!

Personal Note: An Early and Unexpected Mother’s Day Gift

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Screen Shot 2014-05-08 at 4.16.57 PMAfter a quick trip through the grocery store for a few items, I did the customary scan for the shortest checkout line. I wound up behind a pregnant mom and her toddler. The toddler was making a concerted effort to get the shopper’s attention at the head of line, who was in the process of writing a check. I began to interact with the boy, never noticing his mom’s frantic search through her backpack. The toddler’s actions were such that it looked as though he was wanting to grab the check in order to pay the bill. So I made the comment: “Hey, Mom, he wants to ‘pick up the tab.'” She offhandedly responded: “he may have to!” Then she looked up at me and embarrassingly confessed about having to go to the car for her wallet. She only had a handful of items so I said I’d buy them for her. She had the most heartfelt reaction and her face said it all. Naturally, she initially resisted then asked for my name and number so she could repay me. She even reached to remove a few greeting cards from her items to lessen the tab but I rebuffed her, commenting she’d only have to return for them before the upcoming holiday. Then she began to cry, noting that she was very emotional not only due to her pregnancy but because this was the first Mother’s Day without her mom. “Well this is my Mother’s Day gift to you”, I said, “in the future, when an opportunity presents itself, ‘pass it on!'”
The gift of giving is as beneficial to the giver as it is to the receiver. It was an early and unexpected gift to myself!

Personal Note: “Harassed” like John Adams!

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Ugh!  I can’t believe it’s been two months since my last post.  So much for my New Year’s resolution of chronicling the daily trials of rebuilding “the original American brand”!   Today I had hoped to capitalize on a rare occasion of uninterrupted time (between the hours of 8 a.m. and 3 p.m., of course, while my kids are at school) – to compose a thoughtful editorial/essay on the anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombing.  If my essay was succinct and insightful then hopefully it would land on the editorial pages of a newspaper or two . . . ok, I’d settle for the local newspaper, The Waco Tribune-Herald; After all, you gotta start somewhere, right?!  (This was the fate of my first attempt – a tribute to Lincoln on President’s Day – something I’d felt compelled to write about for a couple of years . . . so much for efficiency).  Not so fast!  On the way to school, my fourteen year old son had a meltdown and begged to skip school, which is unusual for him.  Mother’s intuition kicked into overdrive.  After dropping the younger two kids at school, I fired off a cautionary email that was met with record response by a respected coach on the other end of my phone line.  A lengthy conversation ensued – with me doing my fair share of the talking – and a game plan was adopted to resolve the simmering crisis.  Having averted the aforementioned teenager crisis, I rushed to complete a few other morning chores like (1) pinning the horses in their stalls so they don’t gorge themselves on the fresh green “spring” grass and “founder” (like last spring), (2) releasing the chickens from their coop so they can “free range”, and (3) feeding Carl, our pet pig, who in actuality is a feral hog that we’ve raised for the last year and a half.  Another topic for another day!

All this reminds me of a letter John Adams penned to his wife Abigail in 1780 while he was our French diplomat.  Adams described his life as “harassed” because he’s terribly busy and had to spend all his time studying ‘government and administration’ so that he could fulfill his duty during the Revolutionary War.  It’s apparent in the letter that Adams felt he had a vital and particular role and that he had to get it right.  His work as a statesman was for something – a higher purpose.  That higher purpose is called “the laws of nature and of natures God” in the Declaration of Independence.  Knowledge of these things, available in the great works of literature and philosophy (and by simply looking around you once you know what to look for), is highly desirable and necessary to securing and maintaining our freedom in America, according to our Founders.  Knowledge of Natural Law is all but absent in America today.  I certainly had no knowledge of it until I began creating The Liberty Brand.

My point is that I, too, feel like I have a particular role to play today in addition to being a mother.  Perhaps because I am a mother.  I don’t presume that I’ll have the impact Adams had, after all, he more than anyone else provoked the writing of the Declaration, recommended Thomas Jefferson author it, and secured France’s alliance in the Revolutionary War.  Tall shoes to fill!  But I love America and I love my children and want nothing more than for both to grow and prosper.  My hope is that The Liberty Brand can successfully capture and showcase the history and meaning of America, thereby making a ‘visual appeal’ for the founding.

The Liberty Brand is a worthy pursuit – the founders would argue, the ultimate pursuit – and I’ll doggedly pursue it . . . all the while being “harassed”!