Tomorrow

Tomorrow I’ll be the celebrity

The darling, the oh-so-much-loved

Best mommy in the world.

Tomorrow.

 

Today I was the ogre

Who refused hot chocolate, after their excursion

Into the first good snow.

In my defense, I was thinking about precedent

And about being knee-deep in work I could not finish

Including all those sloppy wraps and boots now

(Thanks, my precious poppets, my drip-nosed angels).

So I didn’t take time for the powdery whiny marshmallowy six-cup mess

Of hot chocolate yet too.

What a bad mommy.

 

Then, even more scandalously, I made them

HELP

FOLD

LAUNDRY

And I took them to church and

Made them sit through an evening service.

I am a villain.

 

All those stories you read about kids who roll their eyes at their moms

And think they’re dumb and things

(You know)

You never know

How much it actually hurts

 

But better times are coming.

Tomorrow I will be

The queen in their eyes, the never-had-a-bad-day mama

Tomorrow I will be showered with fleeting adoration,

Hugs, gifts, tender eyes, scrawled words of thanks.

 

Tomorrow

Is my birthday.

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Priscilla F.
5 years ago

So is the 17th your birthday?! Have a hugely blessed day (even if it isn’t your birthday). πŸ™‚ P.S. Wouldn’t, couldn’t love them less, but are children not the most fickle of personalities at times?! Welcome to the “mean mom club”…

Shari
5 years ago
Reply to  Priscilla F.

Yes, November 17. Thanks for the welcome. ?

Melissa Nissley
5 years ago

Thank you, Shari, for your honesty! Loved this post n knowing that I’m not the only β€˜scandalous’ mom after all… ?
Happy, happy birthday! ?

Rosanna
5 years ago

You know you are a good mom when your children get mad over this sort of thing because they don’t know how ridiculously good they have it. Not said from experience as a mom but from observation.

Ina
5 years ago

Happy Birthday to a wonderful Mom who loves (and likes) her kiddos!

Heather Nicodemus
5 years ago

Yep- right there with you. (Birthday blessings!)

5 years ago

Happy birthday Shari! What number birthday are your celebrating? Today is also my youngest daughter’s birthday. She is 18 today.

Ruthie
5 years ago

πŸ™‚ Ha, I was muttering to myself last night that “I’m about mommed out”. A good night’s sleep can almost always improve my outlook on life though and last night’s repose proved faithful. Happy Birthday! Today marks exactly four months since my baby was born and eight months since my dad died, so the seventeenth day of the month will always be meaningful for me after this year of abundant joy and sorrow.

Judith
5 years ago

oh Shari I forgot you shared a birthday with my mom and now my daughter who is turning 7 today. I wish you the best of days!!! but you know, I’ve come to expect a not so good day on my birthday…at least then I will not be disappointed:) πŸ™‚ Thank you Rosanna for your comment! Now that you say it, I realize how true it is and that I shouldn’t feel so badly when I’m the terrible mom:)….and also how often I must be like my children in my Father’s eyes!
Happy birthday Shari! I love reading your blog!!! πŸ™‚

Renae
5 years ago

Happy birthday, Shari! I hope the love you felt today was beyond your expectations! πŸ™‚ I found that really does make up for the other less-than-perfect circumstances of motherhood. Thanks for sharing this.

5 years ago

Happy birthday yesterday! πŸ™‚ Do you think our moms ever felt like mean moms? Sometimes I think our generation has more of a “complex” about pleasing the little sinners we’re raising.

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