Mom skillz

You know I’m going to say it.  I feel strongly enough about this to not back down until the fundraising ball gets rolling.  Would you check out my previous post about the 5K and consider helping us reach teenagers in our community?

NOW, for the point of this post…

Just in case anyone miss-perceived my “Mom confessions” to be a self deprecating post, I wanted to take one more shot at getting to the heart of the matter.  As a coworker (and good friend) and I were talking this morning, we emphasized that SHE was the best mom for her girls and I was the best my for my four kiddos.  Because we are both the very best people to teach them about Jesus.  It doesn’t matter if we do a single other thing the same way.  It doesn’t matter if we even agree on any other parenting choice, we are each loving our kids and teaching them to love Jesus.

And, to get that job done, we each have our own skillz.
MOM SKILLZ.

When my kids ask (a million times a day):
How do you know that?  Where did you learn that? How did you do that?
Sometimes I provide a detailed explanation, give credit to my teachers or parents, throw out a”practice makes perfect” or “when at first you don’t succeed”.  But most of the time the answer I give is simple:
“Mom skills”  And they nod their understanding (that I like to think is full of admiration).

You know, those skills that you have completely mastered that make you their mom.  The skills that would be completely useless in any other venue, but are completely essential to your survival as a mom.  The skills you didn’t dream about when you played house as a young girl.  Mom skillz are as different as each mom, but we all have them.  Its the identifying them, taking pride in them and using them that counts!

And here are a few of mine…

I can feed a baby while playing cards with my three big kids and talking to their Daddy on the phone. 

I can separate ANY two Lego pieces that happen to get stuck together.

I can turn anything into a game.  And convince my kids that it is more fun when it is a competition. (pennies for bribes, optional)

I can walk into a room and convince the kids that I have completely figured out what just happened.  Even if I don’t have a clue.

I can count to 4 (and locate the corresponding child to that number) without missing a beat in a conversation.

I can identify princesses by the color of their dress, Thomas trains by their engine number and superheros by their masks.

I can come up with a song for just about anything my kids say
(some might call this a quirk.  I call it a skill)

I can completely change a conversation (and an entire mood) mid-breath.

I can (usually) remember which kid likes which foods prepared which ways.
( for example: one likes mashed potatoes, one likes baked potatoes, one likes sweet potatoes)

I can pray while driving and listening to “Silly songs with Larry” or Raffi’s silly “Sing-along-songs”

I can interpret the foreign language of “kid-speak”.  The language that has words which do not mean what you might expect, sometimes completely leaves out important facts from a story, and is filled with words pronounced quite differently than English.

I can hide and eat treats without getting caught so that I won’t have to share.
*at one point in their lives I even mastered getting their chick-fil-a toy and driving through the drive through after lunch to get myself some icecream, without them being any wiser.

I can identify the location of lost shoes, the man from a favorite plane, a missing pacifier, a favorite shirt, all without even leaving my chair.  And the directions often sound something like “Yeah, I saw it last Tuesday.  Upstairs, in your brothers closet, under the blue blanket, in the back right corner, inside his white shoe.”

And just this week, I discovered that I can conquer fears, use cat-like reflexes and impress my 6 year-old by catching an illusive grass hopper.  All while holding his baby brother.