Tuesday, May 08, 2007

Real Moms Have Bad Kids

It's true. Real Moms have bad kids. Not all the time, mind you, but much more frequently than they want you to suspect. Perfect Little Johnny over there - you know, son of Perfect Mom Jane - he's not so perfect. He seems perfect at the library because he's just had a nap and a snack. When he's not perfect, they just skip the library. You should see Little Johnny at tee-ball. There he's hungry and grumpy and likes to throw sand at the other kids. Mom Jane doesn't feel very perfect then. In fact, she feels like a pretty lousy mom. The truth is that Mom Jane isn't perfect. She's just a Real Mom who's afraid people might find out that she has a kid who is sometimes bad. Guess what, Mom Jane... Real Moms have bad kids.

But the best part is that Real Moms don't care. They discipline and redirect as needed and then they move on. Kids have bad days. Moms have bad days. Fortunately, we love each other, regardless. For this Real Mom, the bad days make me appreciate the good even more. When my hyper-crazy boy finally figures out how to focus (because he's actually playing first base and really, really wants to make the play), I think back to when he's tackling all his friends on the playground and wrestling them to the ground despite their protests. Same energy, different channel. When my almost four year old daughter floats and flutters through a room singing a lovely song about how much she loves her Mommy, I think back to this...
I tell myself that I'm going to look back on this picture in twenty years and say, I always knew she was going to be an artist.

Sure, Real Moms have Bad Kids but that's just what you have to do to be a kid sometimes. This Real Mom loves Bad Kids. I wouldn't trade them for the world... and I certainly wouldn't trade them for Perfect Kids! Blech! Who can live up to that standard?? Not me!

Real Moms: Making Kids Get in Trouble, Again and Again and Again


P.S. Enter the Real Mom Truths contest! The winner will receive this amazing 4G iPod Nano and Chocolate gift set, plus a link to their post on True Mom Confessions on Mother's Day

5 comments:

WannabeMe said...

That picture is precious!

Erin M said...

ahh she and my Tessie have a marker fascination in common. I hope your library books havent fallen pray like mine have... to the tune of $200 in replacement fees *blush* even good kids are bad sometimes

Jenny said...

Oh don't get me started on the library books! Most recently, she had a tea party with real water on the table right next to a brand new library book - I was the first person to ever borrow it. That was $3 in water damage. Then the baby decided to start gnawing on a board book. I figured, no big deal. It's a board book, that's what they are designed for... he bit the corner off! $5 charge there. Gotta love 'em.

naturalmom said...

Nice post. The great thing about "good kids" is that they aren't bad all the time, lol. My dd was an absolute bear to live with last evening. (I think she was tired.) This morning, she's bright and chipper and back to her usual self.

I love the marker picture -- priceless!

Stephanie

Patois42 said...

Great post. So right on target!