New respect for my mother

When I was little my mom was a stay-at-home mother until I was in 1st grade. She babysat for Leah and Rachel Klevar too and to this date Rachel is one of my closest friends in the entire world. I always thought that when I had kids I would be a stay at home mom and maybe babysit for another little kid or two that would grow up to be life long friends with mine. That didn't happen. There are days I don't even want to be around my own kids much less someone else's. If being a parent has taught me anything it has taught me that there are very few kids in this world that I like other than my own and those of my family and friends. And for the 5 months that I decided to try being a stay-at-home mom when Hannah was a baby taught me that I'm a sucky stay at home parent. I need a grown-up outlet to keep my sanity.

When I was in first grade my mother went to work as the secretary at my school. After dealing with the yearbook distribution this week, and dealing with irate parents and watching the principal and the secretary have to deal with all sorts of piddly issues while I've been in the office each morning, I have more respect for my mom than ever before.

This morning when I was in the office a little boy came in crying because another kid had broken his toy on the bus. I couldn't quite see what it was but I think it was a Nintendo DS. When Hannah asks to take even a cheap, plastic toy or stuffed animal on the bus the first thing I say to her is "That's fine but if it gets lost, stolen, or broken I don't want to hear about it. It's your call." So luckily it wasn't me that the kid in the office came crying to today because I probably would have said "Why the fuck did you have that on the bus in the first place? Suck it up and get back to class."

Mom....I bow down to you. You have earned a place in heaven for sure.