Mom of the Year?

In my circle of friends I am referred to as "Mom of the Year", however I often don't feel this way. When I go to kid functions it's like the 1st day of school, I feel awkward and don't really fit in. There are usually two groups of moms and I don't fall into either group.

The first is the disheveled frantic mom. She may have on ill fitting jeans or sweats. Often her hair is in a ponytail or not combed. Chapstick is the only makeup this mom needs. She runs around trying to keep her gaggle of children in line, she uses the fact that she has kids as her excuse for her appearance and her lack of being able to remember names and such. She looks down on you for working, for having yourself pulled together, she has forgotten that she is a person other than a mom. The only topic she'll talk about is childbirth and children.

The next is the Perfect Mom. She will have all of her hair plastered in place, no smudged eyeliner, and her clothes are neatly ironed. She is ALWAYS on time. Her kids are always neat and clean, they stand in line and follow directions. She is the mom who brings individual cupcakes or cookies with each of the children on the teams name written on them in calligraphy. Her house is spotless, you could lick the floor. She can cary on a conversation about a few more topics other than motherhood, but keep in clean and sweet!

I am not either of these women. Maybe bits of both, but I'm my own hybrid of Mom! I show up at my kids functions like a person. Friday I went straight from work to Ellis' T-Ball ceremony, I had on skinny jeans, a tunic and boots, my hair was normal and I had on makeup. The other mothers looked at me like I didn't belong there. Through out the season I tried to talk to the other moms, but I could only listen to their story about childbirth so many times. I will continue to push my son to be involved in activities but really could live without the snobby attitudes of the other women.

I'm not traditional nor is my family. I drink and cuss, I wear athletic attire when I'm going to be athletic, lounge wear is for lounging. I didn't stop being a person because I created another. I live for my kids. I love to talk about things other than my tiny humans. My kids are well rounded and know how to function around others. Are they always well behaved? No, not really, but they are kids they shouldn't be! My step-sons love collard greens, I love my boys so I take on the painstaking task of cutting up greens. It's 10PM and Aubrey wants pumpkin bread, I'll whip it out, Ellis is obsessed with tacos we have Taco Tuesday. I now know things about comic books because of my son. I really didn't want to see MSI in concert, but the girl did so I went. My kids will look clean in public, I let them develop their own self and their own look. Ellis will burst into the Batman theme song at any given moment and that's OK. Aubrey has red hair and a nose ring, she's 16 if these are the worse things she's doing, I'm doing a damn good job! My kids are socially aware, they don't discriminate, they are involved in good causes.

So yes at 4 Aubrey tried to order a Margarita instead of a Quesadilla and Ellis at 2 tried to drink my glass of Merlot by calling in Coke. The twins used to refer to other tan people as "Chinese Mexican" when they were little. Ellis will probably call you a sucker-punk, Aubrey will roll her eyes, Jaydin will not listen and Jaymond will suck his teeth, but they do it all with decent grades and by pulling their weight at home. So yes I am Mom of the Year! This year and every year! And if you don't agree I'll just unleash my brood of Kids on you!