Mother's Day Honesty

I could write a post of 1,000 reasons I love being a mom. I could tell a million stories which melted my heart. I could brag about my extraordinary children and the exquisite joy I feel when I'm with them. And every word of it would be true.

I could also tell horror stories that make your toes curl. I could tell you how what I want more than anything else is a nap. Or a good night's sleep. Or a long shower. I could write about how there are moments (and days) when it sounds like a really great idea to bang my head against a wall. Because that would be less painful and more productive. And every word  of it would be true.

And that's the beauty of motherhood.

So instead I'm giving you 2 lists. Because I like lists and I like it when things are even.

Things I hate about being a mom:

1. Monotony. "Are you having a good Mother's Day?" a thousand people asked. "Sure" I answered with a shrug of the shoulders. "The kids woke up, wanted food and still needed to get dressed and ready, just like every other day."
2. Juicy. I used to hate lip kisses, but those boys who live here have swayed me and today I kissed a pair of cookie-chocolate-drooly lips. On purpose. I gross me out.
3. Army Guys. I hate them. They don't do anything, and according to Josh playing with them does not involve and kind of conversation or planning for future lunch dates. What kind of pointless toy is that? 

Things I love about being a mom:

1. Forgiving clients. Yesterday I totally lost it at Tommy. Totally. Lost. It. This morning he crawled into bed with me, gently pushed my nose (the power button on all humans in his world) and whispered (juicily) in my ear "a'morneeen mom. 'ake up!" Then (with a little prompting from Josh) told me Happy Mother's Day. The interaction was so sweet, even I almost forgot that I yelled at him.
2. Relentless Cheerleaders. Since we cheer when "John-B"* rolls over, we also cheer when mommy does it. Since we cheer when Tommy puts a toy away, or draws unrecognizable picture, or even thinks about peeing in the potty, we also cheer when mommy does any (or all!) of those things. Forget about a Triathalon.
3. Stories. I love them. I love that my boys love them. I love it when Tommy loves a book enough to have memorized it. I love it when he has never read a book but wants to show me EVERY thing on EVERY page anyway. I especially love it when both boys snuggle in with a huge stack of books to read on one side and a growing stack of books we've read on the other side. 

So yeah, that's the point. Being a mom is amazing. Having a mom is amazing. Knowing a mom is amazing. So here-here to mother's day. (says while raising a glass of ice water and chomping on a carrot because I suspect that will cancel out the chocolates, jelly beans and raspberry sticks I've been consuming...)

*Josh and I have started calling John "John Boy" (why? Nobody knows...it just came out. and stuck. Babies are sticky.) but it sounds really hard for Tommy to say, so it comes out "John-B" which I find equally adorable.