Friday, May 11, 2012

Mom pay

I got a text at 3pm from my fifteen year old son asking me to please bring his basketball shoes to him after school...at 3:10.  So I dropped what I was doing...nothing important really...went and hunted down the shoes in his 'enter at your own risk' bedroom and headed out the back door.


My husband, who happened to have the day off today, met me at my van and asked me where I was going.  I quickly filled him in, not only on my immediate objective but also on how I had very specifically asked our son if he had everything he needed for his after school activities before we left this morning. I added that I feel like I spend half my life running errands for and following the agenda of our children.  


I honestly don't think that's much of an exaggeration.  For the past twenty-one years, I have logged a lot of miles taking kids to and from everything from church related events to wrestling meets...ball games to dances.  I've made special trips to fetch missing uniform pieces, forgotten homework, field trip permission slips that just had to be turned in that day.  I've made many late Sunday evening treks to buy poster board and art supplies for projects that always seem to be due on Monday mornings. I've delivered after school snacks to boys who surely would have wasted away had they had to wait until ball practices were over. I've made so many trips to and from my kids' schools, I'm certain my van could get there by itself now.  


I couldn't even begin to guess how many hours I've spent sitting on uncomfortable bleachers watching my boys play basketball or wrestle...or how much time I've spent watching baseball in the scorching heat...or soccer in the pouring rain.  Oh, and the time spent watching is nothing compared to the time spent waiting!  Waiting in the parking lot for school to get out...waiting on the bus to get back after an away game...waiting for rehearsal to end or practice to get over.


I'm pretty sure if I got paid by the hour or by the mile, I'd have enough to take a very nice trip somewhere by now or maybe even a nicely funded IRA.  And while I don't except to be financially compensated for my 'work' as a mother, it's nice to be appreciated for it.




So when my husband leaned into the van, kissed me gently and said, "Everyone should have a mother like you,"...all I could do was smile.  Because no matter how many times I've complained about the wasted gas and wasted time spent making special trips just to deliver gym shoes, I'm always going to do it.  And the truth is, I'm going to miss it when it's gone.

1 comment:

  1. I have spent alot of time the last few weeks thinking of this very thing. As you know, Miss Lucy gets her license next week, and while I am excited for her, I can't help but think how much I am going to miss taking her to school in the morning and hearing about what's going on in her life.
    I sometimes would like to sleep in, but I have come to enjoy our early morning talks.

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