Me & my mom, circa 1985.

I kicked off Mother’s Day weekend with a “Muffins with Moms” program at my son’s preschool. He is 3 and this was the first time I’ve actually seen him sing during a program instead of standing there like a deer in headlights, so it was pretty fun actually. Plus it was pretty cool to enjoy the happiness part of letting my son eat donuts and muffins and then leaving him at school for his teachers to deal with the chaotic sugar-high aftermath—he he.

Here is our “Muffins with Moms” selfie:

We are so fortunate to have access to amazing technology that allows us to take selfies with our kids. In this particular photo I am wearing makeup and have my hair done, so I look like an actual person. There are many days at home though where I’m not quite as camera ready and I still try to take photos with my son. I may not share those on Facebook or Instagram, but they exist for our family documentation.

I want to encourage moms this Mother’s Day to make certain you take photos WITH your kids—not just OF your kids. Much of a mother’s work goes unseen—most people don’t see the behind the scenes work: all that time I spend price-matching groceries week to week so we can have affordable, healthy food; hunting down coupons for StrideRite so we don’t pay our mortgage away for my son’s XL wide shoes; setting up dentist, doctor and other appointments for everyone in the family; scouring the Internet for hours researching schools, vacations, developmental milestones; putting together teacher appreciation gifts; planning birthday parties; staying up during bad weather so I’ll be alert and ready if my son is scared or if we need to take shelter; grabbing tickets to the Thomas the Train ride before they’re sold out—all of this is mostly invisible. I’m sure some of this is recognized on a level, and having a happy, healthy little boy is all the thanks I ever need. But, it is important to have some documentation of me sitting right beside the rest of my family and not just being the behind the scene production manager. I know I can’t be here forever and no one knows how their days on Earth are numbered, so I want to make sure I have something tangible to offer of our memories together. There are times I am not perfect to look at, but that’s okay. I need to get over myself because it’s not just about me being perfect—it’s about how just being together is all the perfection we need. [Read more…]