Mother’s Day Reality Check

This is dedicated to all the BLC moms and moms-to-be.

This year was my second time to celebrate Mother’s Day. Last year I only had one child. This year I have two! So it was double happiness. But in some ways, it was double trouble. My thoughtful husband wanted to treat me to a special family lunch at the place of my choice. I chose Little Vietnam at Mid Valley Megamall. (Note to self: Never go to Mid Valley on a Sunday with two kids who both need to nap.)

After a long hunt for a parking space and Noah losing one of his shoes, we got to the restaurant. Eliana had not slept all morning and should have been asleep by then. I think she wanted to give me her full attention all day long – as a gift, of course. We ordered our food and the kids started fussing. Noah would only eat the cookie sticks Eric bought him and cried if I tried to give him rice. Eric eventually had to leave the restaurant with a screaming Eliana.

As I sat there alone (with Noah) eating my delicious food, I started to feel sorry for myself. What kind of Mother’s Day was this turning out to be? But as I thought about it, I realized that THIS is what being a mom is all about. This is reality.

Children cry. They’re messy. They throw their rice on the floor and then ask for more. They interrupt meaningful conversations.They vomit on your nice Mother’s Day outfit. They don’t sleep when they’re supposed to and they lose their shoes at inconvenient times.

But these same children have smiles as bright as sunshine. They help you clean up their messes with tissues. They learn to do things like eat rice with their own spoon and make you so proud. They give you a thousand new meaningful things to talk about. You learn to wear the vomit stains as a badge honoring your motherhood. And when they finally sleep, you see only the angel in them. An angel wearing only one shoe.