Mom of the Year

Mornings around here can be a little rough.  

They start out good enough, full of good intentions and happy thoughts and warm fuzzies, but then, well, the minutes just keep ticking by and real life sets in.  Along with harsh realities and less-than-pleasant thoughts and a few words that get mumbled under my breath in hopes that my children can't hear them and repeat them at school.

They repeat everything at school, remember?

My son is a bit on the pokey side.  Ok, a lot on the pokey side.  As in gets completely distracted and lost in his own thoughts and forgets that he is actually supposed to be doing something in the here and now.  Morning just compounds this whole nature of his.  Adding on a Michelin Man layer of winter gear doesn't help either.

We've tried getting up earlier.  We've tried incentive charts.  We've tried letting him sleep a few minutes later.  We've tried laying everything out the night before.  All great ideas, right?  That's basically all they are.  Great ideas.  Nothing has actually worked to help him move any faster or be ready any earlier.

But miracles do happen.

Last week, there was a day when my son was ready early.  Yes, EARLY.  As in ready to go with a minimal number of kicks in the butt from yours truly.  There were high 5's all around and much jubilation and celebration and then the best news of all...I told him he had a few extra minutes to play before heading out to the bus.  

You should know it has been frigid...literally...around here lately.  Buses have been late with all the snow and ice, and waiting outside for the bus has been miserable.  We've been heading out the door at the time the bus is scheduled to come, and then usually still have a 2-3 minute wait.  Which still feels like 2-3 hours when it is 2 degrees outside.  Yes, really, 2 degrees.  And that is without the windchill.  But I digress...

Wouldn't you know, the day my son was EARLY (I said it again...EARLY!!) just so happened to be the day the bus was early.  WAIT, WHAT?!  As I sent my son off to play with his Legos while bundled up in snow gear from head to toe, and bent down to pick up his backpack near the front door, I heard a faint, familiar, rumbling sound.  As I looked out the window, I saw it.  I had visual confirmation of what I had just heard.

My son's bus cruising on by our house.

A full 5 minutes early, which was actually more like 10 minutes early from what it had been the last few weeks.

I was pretty much in shock as I turned to my husband and uttered the words, "His bus just drove by!"  The ONE DAY my son was ready not only on time, but EARLY, and I blew it!!  His moment of glory, his time in the sun, poof! out the window.  What's worse was that he now connected getting ready early to getting the frequently-asked-for-rarely-granted ride to school.  This was not the Pavlovian connection I was hoping for!

Sign me up.  Submit your paperwork now, ladies and gentlemen.  I'm a shoe in, hands down winner.  This fiasco has earned me top honors...

Yes, that is correct.  Mom of the Year, right here.

I wish this was the one and only time I can say I've earned this coveted honor.  But that would be a lie.  

There could be the time I dropped my son off at preschool and he was crying because he wanted to leave, my daughter was crying because she wanted to stay, and his teacher was letting me know I hadn't turned in any of the paperwork that had been due before school started.

Mom of the Year

Or the time I locked my kids in the car.  Along with my keys.  In my day care provider's driveway.

Mom of the Year

Or the time I was in a tickle fight with my son and in the midst of all the hilarity and laughing and good ole fashioned fun, I proceeded to completely scratch a layer of epidermis of my poor kid's cheek with my much too long (and apparently sharp) finger nail.

Mom of the Year

I could go on, but I don't want to intimidate anyone with my amazing parenting skills.  No, I'm not one to brag so I'll stop with my tales of my consecutive Mom of the Year titles right there.  I know, you're in total awe of my awesomeness right now...or perhaps you're just in awe that my kids have survived as long as they have!

We all have our days.  We all have our moments.  When you have your Mom of the Year moment, just remember, you're not alone.  Kids can be driven to school.  Locksmiths can come unlock cars.  Scratches heal.  You love your kids more than anything in the whole wide world, and that is what matters.  That truly does make you Mom of the Year.

Some days, you're Mom of the Year.  Some days, you're not.  Everyday, You Are a Good Mom.

If you have any Mom of the Year submissions of your own, feel free to leave them in a comment below!  I'd be happy to share my title with anyone who wants a piece of the glory.

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