I know that there are families out there that spend Mother's Day pampering their mom with chocolates, flowers, cards, breakfast in bed and even new dresses. I saw all of the posts on Facebook yesterday. Despite the mathematical impossibility of such proclamations, almost every post I read was written by someone claiming that their mom is "THE BEST!" One of my friends noticed this, and even suggested that we hold a "Best Mom" contest to sort it out once and for all, which I thought was hilarious. For a few moments I imagined "Mom"athalon races taking place across the country. The race would start with a giant pile of combined dirty and clean clothes from which the mom would have to outfit 2 children in concert attire while a four year old paid actor screamed in their ears. From there they would have to run a gauntlet of Legos and Barbie shoes barefoot, while scheduling yearly physicals, dental appointments and eye exams. The third leg of the "Mom"athalon would include packing 3 healthy and appetizing lunches from a refrigerator that a panel of husbands had previously reviewed and agreed that there was, "nothing to eat in there." Hmm...this sounds like the WORST Mother's Day activity EVER! I veto the Best Mom Contest here and now, for all mothers. While there was no breakfast in bed for me this Mother's Day, my family did try very hard to make sure that I had an awesome day. We decided to include two of my favorite things--hiking and reading. Our family agreed it might be fun to do a day hike, and we headed to a nearby State Park known for beautiful trails and waterfalls. We drove 35 miles, and were 7 miles away from the park when the first raindrop fell ominously to our windshield with a SPLAT. We held out hope, after all, it was Mother's Day! There should be daffodils and tulips, May flowers and sunshine, right!? By the time we pulled into the park 10 minutes later, the rain was pouring down. We took stock of our vehicle. By some miracle, the ponchos we had just used the day before for an all day fun fest of volunteering in the rain at the zoo had been taken in the house, set out to dry and PUT AWAY by one of my children! What are the chances? No, I mean really...the odds are seriously stacked against this. I may call the Pope myself to tell him I witnessed a Mother's Day miracle. Sadly, this was one of those times when having a backseat stuffed with old ponchos and umbrellas would have been helpful. Modern Nomad dad came to the rescue though, locating 1 winter wool coat, 1 baseball cap and four glorious umbrellas that were stowed in the truck cap. We each picked items, and headed out on to the sloppy trail in the downpour. A little mud wouldn't stop us. We sloshed and slipped and slogged ourselves laughing through the woods for the better part of an hour. After an hour our counts were at the following: 2 ruined pairs of school shoes, 1 soaked wool coat that must have weighed 50 lbs, 2 full-on slips into the mud leaving the caked-on-mud-up-the-side-of-the-jeans look, 3 giggling girls who were having a blast, 1 kid who forgot sneakers and was navigating the treacherous slippery paths in a $1 pair of flip flops, 2 smiling parents grossing out their kids by kissing in the rain, IN PUBLIC no less, where all the trees could see us, 1 full load of muddy laundry for mom to deal with on Monday, and countless memories of a very non-traditional, but VERY HAPPY MUDDER'S DAY. I trust that these girls will remember laughter and happiness isn't about having the nicest dress, prettiest flowers, or even the perfect weather. It is enough just to be spending time laughing and playing with the people that you love.
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May 2017
Modern
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