Hey Jodi... this one's for you!!!! Because I'm Mommy!

My very super, sweet, and special "pseudo-sister" has a big "Boo Boo" ... she needs some entertainment so I thought I would write a blog entry so that she would have something to read while she is sitting with her feet up...

My topic today is Because I AM the Momma ... you know... all those things that your momma said to you when you were a kid.  Those things that you catch yourself saying and then think... crap I am my mother! 

There are many sayings in our family that we attribute to our mother.  (and we tease her about them all the time... like good kids should!)

The most famous of my mom's sayings was "Quit feeling sorry for yourself!" This was often used during those teen-angst years when every little thing was very drama-filled.  You must realize that there were 4 girls in my parents' house and at any moment someone could be PMSing... which is high tide for drama!  Although this saying may seem harsh, it taught us that we needed to look outside of ourselves and our own selfish bubble.  Even when things seem tough for you, there is always someone going through something more difficult than you can imagine.  Even now when I am together with my sisters and we are sitting and complaining about whatever the problem of the day is, it is not unusual for one of us to say in our nasally-mom-voice... "Quit feeling sorry for yourself"and we all end up with a good laugh.

If "quit feeling sorry for yourself" did not do the trick mom's second most popular saying was "Suck it up!" to which we have now added "Buttercup".  I am not sure if my mother ever used the "buttercup" part but I have heard my sister use that phrase with her kids and I know I have used it at one time or another.  Now I know that "Suck it up" seems kind of harsh but often it is replacing what the mom is really thinking which is usually worse than that. I can remember this being used by my mom when I was upset that the "special" pair of pants that I wanted to wear were dirty and I was upset that they had not been washed. I am pretty sure I got the response... "suck it up and wear a different pair".  Looking back I can now see where Makenna gets her clothing "issues" from!!! LOL

Everyone has those days... you know the ones where everything just is not going your way. The days that it seems that the world has turned against you.  The days when you think... this is just NOT FAIR!!!  A wise woman once said this to me.  "Who told you life was fair??? Who ever it was... LIED!"  Truthfully, I can not remember if it was my mom or dad who coined that phrase but I do know that it was used A LOT in our house.  Whether the issue was that one of the siblings got to go for a sleepover or someone else got to pick out the movie at the rental place, we quickly learned that life indeed was not fair BUT that was just the way it was.  This is a life lesson that many people in this world need to learn.

Overtime our relationship with our mom has changed and grown.  We have become confidants and friends.  She no longer uses these saying with us (very often)... probably because we bug her about them so much! ;) However, she is starting to coin new phrases now to add to her repertoire that she can use to add her insight into the new situations we are facing.  You must realize that my mother has a big heart.  She has always had lots of room in her heart (and her house) for more people to love.  Each of her son-in-laws and now her new daughter-in-law has their own little room in her heart. (and their room better not be BIGGER than mine... LOL) So when we sit down and start complaining about our husbands and whatever they have done or not done lately my mom usually sits back and lets us vent... but when it all becomes too much or we go too far she interrupts and shares her wise insight.... "You picked him" she says! I am not sure if that is something that her mother said to her but it does sound like something I may say in the future!  Yes, she is right. "You picked him" pretty much sums up every wife's angst!!!  Not only did we marry him but we CHOSE to marry him... WE picked him... for better or worse... yikes!!!! LOL

So there you go... wisdom according to mom!!

NOTE: It might sound like my mom was hard on us or harsh... this was not true.  It is true, however, that she didn't put up with much crap, with 5 kids to take care of and working full time she didn't have time for that!! Thanks MOM!