I Wised up.

Here is the obligatory Mother's Day post. I've been sitting here thinking about what I want to say and I am drawing a blank. What can I say that hasn't already been said? Oh I know...

Why aren't mom's appreciated this much every day? I don't mean we should get cards, flowers, and presents everyday, but the thoughts, hugs and thanks would be great. I would love to wake up every morning or walk in the door each night and be the recipient of a hug and a "thanks Mom, your the best."

Or to have your kids do all the things in those little homemade coupon books they give you. But do them all the time, without the need for the coupon. You know, the one's filled with little scraps of paper that say, "Good for one free hug." Or "Redeem for one free car wash." I don't remember the last time I got a spontaneous hug from my son.

My son last night said something that made everything clear. At that moment I just had to stare at him with my mouth open. Nothing would come out. I had so many ways to respond to his question, it's like I had a traffic jam in my mouth.

He had just finished unloading the dishwasher and he put a few things in the sink that didn't quite come clean, finished putting everything else away and went a started watching television. I told him that next time he needs to put the ones that were still dirty back in the dishwasher instead of leaving them in the sink. He says, "We've ran them through like, a zillion times. They should be washed by hand and be done with it." I said, "Great, why don't you do that?" He's says, "Why do I have to do it?" This is where my tongue got stuck in my mouth and wouldn't move.

Many things ran through my head:

• "Why not?"


• "Because I said so."


• "Because it was your idea."

These statements were among the contenders. My friend Sonja would of probably just given him an "Act right!" smack upside the back of his head, and he would have sullenly got up and washed them. End of story. My methods are slightly different.

What finally came out of my mouth was, "Are you serious?" (I know, soooo smooth.) And I just walked away. But I think my son is slightly psychic, or he just knows me well, because about ten minutes later I heard him in the kitchen washing up those few things.

It takes him a few moments to think about things. Things like the stupid man thoughts that form into words and pop outta his mouth. He wises up eventually. I'm glad my son can think for himself, even if it takes him longer than the average female.

So what became clear was that if the world worked the way we mom's think it should, their would be chaos. There would be no reason to especially appreciate anybody, let alone your mom, because everyone would be pulling their own weight. The words, "I appreciate you" would become boring and with no meaning because it's hard to appreciate something that is commonplace.

So I guess all is right with the world when on this Mother's Day I am enjoying my chocolates, my new kitchen knife set, and anticipating the Harry Connick Jr. concert I received tickets for. All the while, I am waiting for the second load of laundry to finish drying, waiting for my floor to dry that I just mopped, and thinking about giving the dogs a bath. Because sometimes it's just easier to do it myself than asking someone else to do it. Happy Mother's Day All!