A Mother's Role

Today, as I thought about the fact that tomorrow is Mother's Day, I couldn't help but reflect on all the "jobs" a mother does - I couldn't help it because every time I turned around Abby was "assigning" me a new role. Here are just a few.

Mom - The Doctor

We are still playing "Doctor's Office" each time Abby needs her finger poke. She rides the elevator, I check my computer and call her back to my office. As she sits on the "exam table" we chat about how her day is going, and in no time at all we are done and bandaging her finger with a Hello Kitty band-aid.

Mom - The Restauranteur

By the time dinner rolled around Abby was ready to be catered to. I was to show her to her seat and then take her order - she even made sure that I had my notepad and pencil to get it right. I told her tonight's special (spaghetti with sauce) and that it came with a cold glass of milk. She told me that would be great, and I assured her that I would be back soon with her meal. She was very polite as she thanked me for my service. Although a tip was conspicuously absent.

After dinner I became the "Ice Cream Lady". As I prepared her chocolate ice cream cone, she stood next to me smiling so sweetly. After the hand-off, she happily ran from the room yelling, "Thank you, Ice Cream Lady!"

Mom - The Stylist

Since she'd had a yummy chocolate ice cream cone for dessert, she also had a lovely chocolate ice cream beard by the time it was done. Therefore we trotted off to the bath soon afterward. When we came downstairs afterward, she not only consented to having me comb her hair, but she plopped down in front of her mirror, asked for a cape, and told me she needed a hair cut. I jumped at the opportunity to even up some of the ends she wouldn't let me at a few weeks ago when I first cut her hair. As I was trimming Abby suddenly asked for "black hair". I clarified that she wanted me to dye her hair black. She affirmed that's what she wanted. I think I said something like, "That's never going to happen," but she continued to plead for it. I told her that as her stylist, I really couldn't recommend that change, it just wouldn't look good with her coloring. Luckily she dropped it after that.

Mom - The Teacher

This morning Abby wanted math. Yes, that's right, she wanted to do some math and she made sure to tell me that I was not to turn on the TV while she worked. So, I pulled out the counting teddy bears and we got to counting and patterning. That didn't seem to be enough though, because after a bit she closed the book and asked for "work". I took this to mean worksheets, so I drew some up. We matched numbers and counted dots - this seemed to satisfy her math need.

Later it was time for some language arts, so we wrote a book - a compelling story about a red flower. It was Abby's idea for it to be dancing in the breeze. I illustrated, she colored, and then she read the story to Daddy. He was suitably impressed.

All of you moms out there have your own stories of the different roles you play throughout the day. You are negotiators, referees, chauffeurs, cheerleaders, entertainers, and materials managers - to just name a few. Hopefully tomorrow you will also be extra appreciated for all that you do.

Happy Mother's Day!

Color me happy!

Teddy Bear Math

A hot day calls for a cold popsicle.