So the other day we were sitting down for dinner, and my daughter suddenly blurted out…I’m going to be the best mom ever. I looked at her and smiled. So sweet.
I indulge myself with reassuring thoughts that I must be doing a pretty good job. She sees me and thinks, yeah…I want to be the best mom, ever. Just like my mom.
Ahem.
Well, a mom can dream, can’t she?
I had to know she was going to lower the boom and she did.
Because she continues on, outlining 3 very important aspects of her mothering that will no doubt make her the best mother ever…
I will let my kids draw on the walls.
I will let them buy whatever they want at the store. Any store. Any time.
I will bake a pie every day. And let them help.
I had to laugh but also smile while nodding my head (and biting my tongue) because she was completely serious.
Never mind the fact that I don’t do those things. Have never baked a pie. Cookies and cupcakes? Yes. But a pie? A pie? No.
My kids cannot draw on the walls and I warn them before we enter any store…this is what we’re here for and that’s it. We are not buying what we don’t need.
So, I guess I’m not the best mom ever.
But my daughter? Oh, my daughter will certainly be. Because she is going to embrace crayon colored masterpieces on every wall in the house, have money to waste on toys forgotten the next day, and after a long day of mothering/cleaning/working have the stamina/skill/patience to bake a delicious pie. Every day. Smiling through it all and encouraging her toddler sous-chefs to go ahead and play with the dough!
But I didn’t have the heart to crush her idyllic dreams of motherhood no matter how naive and misguided.
Besides, later that night after finishing the last chapter of Anne of Green Gables (which she loved by the way); she announces that we just must have a mommy and daughter playdate. Just the two of us. And this is what’s on the agenda:
We’re going to watch Anne of Green Gables, the movie.
Eat dessert first, dinner later.
Dress up, wear crowns, and put flowers in our hair.
Do puzzles and play with my stuffed animals.
Okay, little sister, now you’re talking. That? That I can do.
And though I might not live up to your ideal of best mom ever, I do hope that this playdate you have planned for us at least tops the list of one of your best playdates ever.
Because I know for me…it will. And it will be one I’ll never forget.
Thank you for inviting me, sweet girl.
And for reminding me that motherhood is full of these moments of magic amid our often rushed, crazy, and plain old ordinary days.
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