Mother's Day Take Three (my 3rd Mother's Day as a Mom)

Does anyone watch the TV show "The Middle"? I love this show! From the first episode I thought the mom on the show WAS my mom. I mean, she's busy all the time, takes care of everyone but herself, wears herself thin without anyone noticing until it's too late, etc., etc. And then they had the Mother's Day episode. Did you see it? Were you nodding in agreement? Did you sit back and think, "they are right! Father's Day is great because of Mom!". I made my husband watch and the message he got from it was, "well now you see that it's not me, it's men!" UGH! That wasn't the reason I wanted him to watch! Then I told my mom she had to watch (she DVR's it) and she called as soon as she was done watching. Mom agreed with me that it was the perfect depiction of being a mom on Mother's Day.
Ah, being a Mom. It's kind of the coolest thing in the world. Changes have occurred with me that I could have never imagined. I am actually proud to be becoming my mom. We all know this is an inevitable part of becoming an adult, but it's not until you are a parent that you realize how much you have become like your mother (or father, I suppose, for those dads out there!). I think Mom does a fantastic job of raising us (yes, my brother and I both still call on her for things, so she is still raising us!) and to think that I'm a lot like her is something to be proud of.
Another big change is in my emotions. This is kind of embarassing, but since I hope to share this blog with Emer someday I will write it out as a lesson from which she can learn. I used to be this super emotionally strong person. Nothing could make me cry. Now, I cry watching TV! I cry when there's a story line about someone who loses a child or when someone is reunited with a child they haven't seen in a while. I'm fully aware that most shows are not real but I empathize with the story line. Everything from Army Wives to Survivor (you know, the family episodes where they get calls from their family members) makes me tear up and it's kind of pathetic. I used to blame the post-partum hormones but I'm WAY past that now. Now I have to look at it like this: as a parent I can now imagine what it must be like to lose Emer. I don't know that I would want to go on if anything happened to her.
Being a parent is the most miraculous thing in the world. Everyone says that, and it is corny. But it's also true. The feeling I get when I look back at 'old' pictures of her is a feeling of pride, love, and joy. I can't believe how much she's changed in less than 2 years. I can't believe that I created her. I can't believe that I'm responsible for this beautiful, super-cute, attitude-filled toddler. It's not something I can describe any better than I've tried to do here.

* You know those t-shirts with random sayings on them? Is there one that says, "My kid rocks"? Because if there is, I want it! *