Mother's Day Rant [Ellie]

I'm pretty sure that I've failed to keep every one of the "my child will never. . ." resolutions I made before I became a parent, and my oldest is only six.

My child will never be the one to hit. (How many two-year-old boys don't? Mine did.)

My child will never be the one with the permanent runny nose. (Pass the Kleenex--from October to April, Baby.)

My child will never run around the house naked. (Oh, I've beat that. I've had--within a period of months--two kids naked in public because I forgot to bring changes of clothing.)

My child will never wear dirty clothes out of the house. (How many times can you change one child's clothing in a day?)

I have no more illusions that I am now or ever will be a perfect mom. I've waved a tearful goodbye to each illusion as it flew out the window and I turned to face the reality of life with my children.

But, this isn't the rant you might expect. I'm not going to tell you how much I hate Mother's Day because I'm not good enough and I feel guilty and why do people idealize mothers, anyway etc., etc., etc. I know many women feel that way. But I, personally, love Mother's Day. My rant is directed to mothers who don't. Here are my "Top Five" reasons they should love Mother's Day, too.

1. You went through 9 months of pregnancy and then hours of excruciating pain during labor just to get the kids here. I think that alone deserves one day of thanks per year.

2. No matter how inadequate you feel, think for a moment about the sacrifices you have made for your children. No mother sacrifices nothing, and most sacrifice many things--sleep; careers; money; free time; being surrounded by clean, beautiful, unbroken things; time alone with their spouse--every day. Let them thank you for it.

3. How do you think your kids feel when you tell them you hate Mother's Day because you don't feel like a good mother? Like they must be lousy since you're so unhappy with how they turned out. That's how.

4. Who doesn't like to be treated well--breakfast in bed, sloppy kid kisses, hand-drawn cards, the obligatory Mother's Day school-made flowerpot complete with wilted flower, dinner made for you--for one day. Just enjoy it!

5. There is no ideal mother. She is imaginary. We are all inadequate to the task. But we give it our all, and that dedication is worth celebrating.