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Saturday, May 11, 2013

Mother's Day Syndrome


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This one is from the archives, but I feel this way every year on Mother's Day, so I thought it was worth reposting. Hope you all have a happy Mother's Day!
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Me and my sweet babies.
Mother's Day is just a couple of days away, which means all the school kids have been busy making treasured gifts for their moms. The gifts usually include a plant or flower of some kind, and a card full of sweet drawings and misspelled words written by precious little fingers.

Teachers these days are so crafty and creative. They want your Mother's Day gift to actually mean something to you, so they ask your kid all kinds of questions about you, then put their answers in permanent ink so you can treasure it for all eternity. A wonderful idea for most people, I'm sure. Me? Not so much.

Why? Because those thoughtful little gifts cause my Mother's Day Syndrome to kick in. MDS is a disorder that causes a mom to break out in a cold sweat and have an elevated heart rate at the very moment she begins to read her child's answers in the sweet little Mother's Day card. All she can think is, "What has this child said about me?! Has he/she exposed every one of my weaknesses as a parent?"

I had an episode today because Corban brought home her gift for me. It's a cookbook compiled by her Kindergarten class. All the kids made their own page to showcase their favorite food that mom makes, including the recipe and all the ingredients needed. There's also a cute picture of the kid in a chef's hat and apron, holding a spoon and a bowl, and there's a little cartoon bubble with a quote from the child about why mom is special. So precious.

And frightening.

As I began to read the book, all I could do was wonder what was going to be on her page. I was afraid it was going to go something like:

Corban

Chicken McNuggets

Hop in your car and drive to McDonald's. Talk into the talky thing and tell the lady you want some chicken. Please pull to the first window, then the second window and then they hand you some chicken.

My mom is special because she only yells at me sometimes, not all the time.



Lucky for me, here's what it really said:

Corban 

Chocolate Chip Cookies
 

Cookie Mix
 
Eggs
 
Spoon
 
Water
 
Oil
 

Put the cookie mix in and crack the eggs into it. Then you mix it all together. Put them in the oven.
 

I love my mom because she plays at the playground with me.


WHEW!!

I haven't always been so lucky. Here's a sample of some of the cards I've received in the past. The bold print is the sentence the teacher gave, the italics are my beautiful offspring filling in the blanks:

All day long, my mom... takes a nap. (this one had a lovely picture of stick-figure me in bed with lots of z's above my head)  

My mom is so smart, she can even... eat a whole roll in one bite. (also with a picture of stick-figure me with crumbs all over my face)

It was so funny when... you burped a long time ago. (That never happened!)

I love my mom because... one time she played with me. (and if you keep giving me cards like this for Mother's Day, it'll never happen again)

My mom's favorite tv show is... a tornado watch. (Pick any other show and it's more my favorite than a tornado watch)

M - Much Love (Awww)
O - Open Minded (Okaaaay?)
The Best (Yay for me!)
H - Honest (Always)
E - Excellent (Yes!)
R - Rather Cunning (Really? You're in 2nd grade. How do you even know these words?)

Oh well. At least I have a whole stack of cards to look back on and laugh.

Happy Mother's Day!

7 comments:

  1. Ha! That's precious and too funny, and just think... they'll get there's! I seem to recall a mother's day card from my daughter with me on the computer! And she was never shy with saying, "You're on your 'puter all the time!" Ouch! Nothing like seeing yourself through your child's eyes!

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    1. Oh, I hear that all the time! Glad I'm not the only one.

      And I can't wait until they get theirs!! That will be beautiful! lol.

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  2. Maybe I will decide to homeschool after all. :-)

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    Replies
    1. It's worth considering, for this reason alone! In my defense, I was newly pregnant and sick as a dog the year I got the one about taking a nap all day. :0)

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  3. Good one, Susan. I love hearing all of those again. :)

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  4. Hope you have a wonderful Mother's Day! This year and every year!

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