Mom's Rule

Me and my awesome mom, who proved that she rules once again this week. Thanks Mom.

There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think “Wow, Moms rule.”  It first struck me about a year ago when I attended a local Mothers of Multiples meeting. I really didn’t want to go.  In fact, I’ve only made it to a handful of meetings in the past two years; my own hesitance aside, I’m sure that having five kids six and under probably has something to do with my poor attendance record. In any case, I was worn out from a long day at work and the typical chaos of our dinner and bedtime routine. I was wearing old leggings and a crappy t-shirt and would have been more content settling in for the night than driving twenty minutes away to mingle with a group of women who I barely knew and wasn’t sure if I’d have much more in common with than the admittedly bizarre fact that our uteruses (uteri?!) happened to host more than one baby at a time.

But, I figured, as I often do, nothing ventured, nothing gained. So, I slapped on some lipstick, threw on a cute pair of flats (courtesy of my sister, as with most cute things I own!), tossed on a sweater and headed out the door. And boy, am I ever glad I did. After just a few short hours with a bunch of women I hardly knew, my faith was affirmed once again: Moms Rule. 

Not just those “Moms of Multiples” who I had the pleasure of spending that evening with, but all Moms. We are united by far more than our expanding and contracting uteruses – or, for that matter, by our saggy boobs, baggy bellies and bags under our eyes. We are united in that we truly tend to be warm, welcoming people – whether it’s a knowing smile to a nervous expectant Mom or a reassuring hug before the school bus comes, we are wired to make those around us feel better. To feel confident. To know they can tackle the task at hand – whether it’s surviving the first year with a newborn (or two, or three!) or surviving the first day of school, we support everyone around us. We tend to be funny and real and often, the combination of the two is when we’re at our best.

We are the consummate multi-taskers – we buy groceries, cook meals, clean houses, change diapers, plan parties, organize play dates, pay bills, upload photos, plan vacations, write thank you notes and remember the in-law’s birthdays. We help with homework, do the laundry, kiss the boo-boos, cheer at soccer games, drive to ballet class and return library books. We wrap Christmas presents, make lunches, pack snacks, hand over hand-me-downs, organize closets, make doctor’s appointments, walk the dog, feed the cat, replace the goldfish,  water the plants and have been known to sport spit-up, snot or both as an accessory.

We pride ourselves and artfully juggle our roles as mothers, daughters, friends, sisters, neighbors and colleagues. We support each other, laugh together, cry together, bitch together and intuitively pick each other up just when we need it most. We do all this for one – or two, or three or four, or in my case, five reasons. We do all this because we love the little people that our oversized uterus delivered into this world; we do all this because we want them to have a happy childhood and we want the world they grow up in to be a better place. We want to inspire our children to make it a greater place. And we’re wise enough to know that we can’t do it alone. We need the help and support of other Moms and thankfully, we find that they are there for us just when we need them most. Just like our own Moms always were.  And thankfully, mine still is.  So, if you haven’t done so recently, take a moment to pass this on to the many Moms in your life and remind them of this simple truth: Moms Rule.  Happy Mother’s Day.