Pedestals

 Mother's Day 2011

Our bishop was driving by our house as Jason was taking pictures of the children and me.  He was kind enough to stop and offer to take one of the entire family.What a great Mother's Day gift!

I recall a sacrament meeting talk given some years ago on Mother's Day when the speaker said, "Every year on this day, we put mothers on such a high pedestal, that all the women go home feeling guilty."  Well, since then, I've let go of all unreal expectations I've had for myself and for my children...well, at least my Mother's Day expectations. 

Why should this Sunday be any different, simply because we're supposed to honor mothers?  I know I will still have my "battles of the bench" in trying to keep three rowdy boys reverent.  I will likely struggle to console a child who is in a great gulf of woe and misery because his brother is now sitting in his spot. I apologize if the plastic dinosaur, thrown in a fit of tantrum, hit you in the back of the head.  I'll have the intuition to hand the babe off to daddy just before she spits everything up that I just managed to feed her, and I'll try not to laugh too loudly at the sight of him dripping wet in his suit.  (I'll even do the laundry...eventually.)  I should definitely still expect to be called upon to remove my son from nursery for using the chairs as a weapon.  I will delve into my arsenal of dirty looks to flash across the Primary room at the son who is giggling with his neighbor when he's supposed to be singing Praise to the Man. I will do all this, and more, and it won't seem so bad.  I'll just "chalk it up" to another three-hour block survived, and there's no guilt in that.  In fact, I think I'll just take my place on that pedestal, thank you very much!

This post authored by Amber