Last month, we asked you to submit your "Favorite Mommy Memories" in honor of Mother's Day. The memories were so good that we picked five touching, humorous, and adorable stories as our prize winners: (in no particular order)
- Shari: Valentine's Day, 1994. My twins Ben and Josh were off to Kindergarten, my one year old Ryan was taking a nap, and 3 1/2 year old Sarah wanted to make me look pretty. She brushed my hair, sprayed it and added mousse. She put in ribbons and barrettes. Then she added some make up and some of her favorite kid" jewelry. I sat there for the longest time, Sarah so content because she had me to herself. When she was finished, I looked in the mirror and she was beaming. You can only imagine how I looked, but I was not about to fix my hair or wash my face because she was so proud of her work. We continued on with our afternoon, doing whatever needed to be done. An hour or so later the doorbell rang and I answered the door. There was a young man standing there with a dozen roses, sent by my husband. I was so excited to see the flowers, but noticed he was hesitating when he talked to me. I signed for them and told him to have a great day and he could hardly speak. As I walked into the kitchen with the flowers, I caught a glimpse of myself in the bathroom mirror. I laughed and laughed, wondering what he was thinking. Maybe something like this "who would send roses to a woman who looks like that?" I cleaned myself up before my husband came home and he loved the story and the fact that I would let Sarah do that to me. Well, it is now 2008, and I am at the other end of my parenting adventure. The twins are away at college, Sarah is graduating this year and Ryan is in high school. Steve still sends me a dozen roses every Valentine's Day. But I really miss the little things I was able to do with the kids when I was home with them while they were little. I would love to sit on the floor again and get a "makeover". My guess is the next little girl who does that to me will call me grandma!"
- Cindy B.: Everyday I develop a new memory. I cherish every one of these because one day memories are all I will have of my sweet baby boy.My son was born with a terminal neurological condtion called hydranancephaly. (He had a stroke in utero and his brain tissue did not form.) The fact that we got to bring him home from the hospital was a miracle in itself. The fact that he is now 15-months-old is amazing.So I have only been a mommy for 15 months and I have loved every day and never looked back on the corporate job I left. The drooling, cutting teath, the baths, and each moment that I get to just cuddle him forms memories that I will cherish every day of my life. I have even taken up scrapbooking so I can document every cute outfit, evey milestone, every thing I feel for my son.So I don't have one favorite mommy memory. Every day I try to remember every moment so that when my son passes away I will never forget the way he curls his nose, the way he squeals when he doesn't want you to change his diaper, the way he drools constantly, and mostly the way he curls up in my arms when I hold him close.I love being my son's mommy.
- Cindy L.: Life was good as a stay at home Mom of 10 year old fraternal twin boys. I was in graduate school for my teaching certificate, when I found out I was pregnant!!! Husband was thrilled, I was shocked, boys were not too sure. Hormones kicked in with all the worries that they bring. I worried about having enough love for another child, how did the boys really" feel? What if it was a "girl"??? An "outdoor" type girl myself, our life was filled with the boys sport schedules. Then at six months, we learned it was indeed a little baby girl!! My worries were coming true! Not for long. One day at dinner, our boys told us they had come up with a name for the baby. They took the "M" from Matthew, and the "E" from Eric, to make "EMMY"! Well, I knew then, that this was one lucky little sister! Emmy will be 15 this July, and her brothers are still her biggest fans. Matt and Eric are 25 years old now, and successful young men. They have shown Emmy unconditional love, patience, nipped whinning in the bud!, support and goal setting. "Her boys", as she would call them as she waited at the bus stop for them, have shown her how boys should treat girls. She is self confident and independent. We are just relieved they did not come up with the name "Ralph"! I am grateful to you for confirming I was not wrong to want to stay home with our kids 25 years ago. It is an honor to be a stay at home Mom. Thank you for all you do.
- Donna: My oldest was five. I picked her and her carpool buddy up from Kindergarten. That day Officer Jay" had come to speak to the kids about safety. The carpool buddy, Russel, made an announcement, "When I gwow up, I wanna be a pleece officer just like Officer Jay." Then he turned to my daughter and said, "what do you wanna be when you gwow up?" She was quiet as she thought and thought. I turned down the radio and strained to hear while thoughts of "what college do I need to save for" and "how can I best encourage her on her journey to her dreams" were filling my anxious head. Suddenly she began to speak, "when I gwow up, I wanna be a cat!" Russel said, "YOU CAN'T BE A CAT!" My daughter replied, "MY MOMMY SAID I CAN BE WHATEVER I WANNA BE!""
- Marsha: My son was a precocious 8, who was a voracious reader, and had quite a vocabulary for his young years. One evening I was in the kitchen when he came in to ask what was for dinner. As I had not yet begun dinner, I asked what he would like. He named his favorite dish, and I said well, that is exactly what I was thinking of fixing." He smile broadly and stood up tall and said, "See Mom, I knew it. I'm psycopathic!" I didn't know whether to laugh or be afraid. -)He has grown up to be a very bright and witty young man who is studying etymology - the study of the origin and history of words!"
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