I DON'T Love Being a Mom

Nope. I don’t necessarily love this crazy parenting lifestyle. Never mind that I did “like” the Facebook page titled “I Love Being a Mom.” But that was a hypocritical act. Sorry to burst the bubble of anyone who thought I was a sweet, diaper-changing, laundry-loving, meal-making, always-happy mama.

The truth is, I don’t love diapers. I don’t relish waking up at all hours of the night. I don’t love meals and endless cooking and mountains of chronic laundry. I don’t prefer spending my afternoons driving around town, dropping off and picking up kids from across the city. I don’t necessarily like staying up nights helping with homework, or getting up early to pack nine lunches and chauffeur kids to their morning classes. These tasks are too often mundane.

SUPER MOM

I am a Super Mom. I’m just going to admit it, so that I can feel better. Never mind that I’m often in my pajamas until 10 a.m. Never mind that I lost my temper yesterday. Never mind that I hate cleaning bathrooms, and that the kitchen floor needs vacuuming. I’m a mother, and therefore, I’m super, right?

I’m not just super, I’m super-duper. I’m raising both toddlers and teens … all at the same time! (Come to think of it, I have a few “tweens” too!) My days are spent toilet training toddlers, and my afternoons are spent taxiing teens between lessons and sports. In the evenings, I read ABC books to the younger generation, and then help the older generation with algebra. The first wave of children goes to bed at 7:30 p.m., the second wave at 8:30, and the third wave … well, sometimes we all stay up late with homework. I’m up at 5:30 a.m. to feed the baby and wake the first batch of students. As soon as they’re out the door, the second batch wakes up, and then the third batch. Mothers are the perfect definition of “exhaustion.” Thank goodness for national holidays like Mother’s Day to honor sleep-deprived wonders like myself.

I’ll never forget one evening when I was especially exhausted. The house was a mess, and too many children needed me all at the same time. Just at that moment, the phone rang. My Grandma Bisson, 85, was on the other end of the line. In dismay, I described to her the scene of confusion and disaster unfolding at my house. Without a moment’s hesitation, Grandma responded in her smiling, crackly voice, “Been there, done that.”

Abundance and Apathy

My mind has been in turmoil lately. I've been considering the dual effects of abundance and apathy in our society. I'm no philosopher, but I'm convinced that one stems from the other.

Consider this: we have more stuff, more time, more tools, more information, more food, more toys, more space, more stores, more...you get the picture. Our lives are abundant! Even those in our society who claim welfare or are "underprivileged" have much more than people who lived just a few decades ago.

Painting Pinecones

Are you tired of the winter blues?

I found this great idea online last week, and tried it with my artsy 10-year-old daughter. Voila! In one afternoon we had turned our Christmas pinecones into Spring zinnias!

Here are pics and a link to the original idea:

My mom and preschooler joined in the fun, too.

That was quick, easy, fun, and made our whole winter day brighter!

Here's the link:

http://afancifultwist.typepad.com/a_fanciful_twist/2015/04/lets-make-zinnia-flowers-from-pine-cones.html

Photo Flop

Anyone who enjoys taking family photos has not had children. Believe me, there is no such thing as a pleasant group portrait session. Don’t get me wrong. I love looking at beautiful pictures, especially on Facebook. Smiling faces and cute poses that make us all wish we belonged to that particular, totally organized, having-fun-around-the-clock family.

But no one posts the in between photos. The crazy before and after shots as the family is gathering, the final attempts when everyone is tired and the little kids are pinching each other, the dozens of pictures when someone’s eyes are closed or someone’s tongue is out. Nope. Family photos are an experience in and of themselves.

I generally only share pictures that show our family displaying a serene lifestyle where we love each other 24-7. But last week we had a photo experience too classic not to share.

Just Japan

I just spent two weeks in the land of the rising sun. And the sun rose every morning, big and red, just like the circle on the Japanese flag portrays. My experience there was unforgettable, and I want to paint a portrait of this singular nation.

There is something profound about an archipelago country — a cluster of islands — surrounded by oceans and seas on every side, where the people and their civilization are unique and untainted by outside influences.

I love their soft, graceful culture. Geijins (foreigners) like myself stood out like a sore thumb. But it wasn’t just our origin. I stood out because I wasn’t carrying an umbrella to protect myself from the sun. I stood out because I wasn’t dressed up in business casual (even to shop at the local market). I stood out because I didn’t eat my food daintily with chopsticks. And, even though I am small in America, I towered over many of them.

Endless Entropy

 My house is a science experiment. Actually, there’s no experiment. Our family life has already proved the theory of entropy. No more theory. It’s law. Chaos is inevitable — especially when Mom needs a break.