I am Mother.
Honestly it is something I never thought I would be.† An Aunt? I rocked at that.† I was the cool Aunt, the one who would let you do things your parents never would.
But a Mother?
Not IÖ
Funny how God had other plans for me.
Keilee has changed my life.† She has made me understand a million things that I never understood completely.
It is hard at times being a single Mom.† Hard being a homeschool Single Mom.† Hard being a homeschool Single Mom without my Mother, but things happen every single day to make it all worthwhile.
Thank God I had an amazing Mother who showed me what is was to be a great Mom.† I find myself channeling her SO often.† And I smile…..
I am raising this amazing child.† This amazing girl child with a huge heart and wonderful talents and a love for God that is awesome.† A child who has so many passions and interests.† Who I have never ONCE heard say, “I’m bored.”† I am so thankful that I decided to homeschool her.† A thousand, a million things I would have missed.
There is no rule book for Motherhood.† No set of guidelines.† Everyone does it differently.† Most of us do the very best we can.† We donít live a lavish lifestyle.† We live very simply.† We donít eat out, or buy expensive clothes or drive a new car or live in a big house, but we have something so much more than all of that.† We have a unique closeness, a language almost all of our own.† Laughter, silliness, joy, love mark the passage of our days.
I am far from a perfect Mom.† I yell, I get frustrated.† Mostly I think that is because I forget that Keilee is 12, with a 12 year olds perspective on things.† She is still a child.† She still leaves her room a wreck and throws everything on the kitchen table and forgets to do something I ask her 100 times to do.
I have trouble making time for myself.† There are no dates or time spent without Keilee.† Now she does things without me, I just donít do anything without her.† I spend my ëmeí time reading or blogging or finding a TV series that maybe isnít appropriate for her and watching in my bedroom.† I love working backstage at her theater productions with the other Moms.† We have a blast.† I also love playing online games but I find they take up too much of my time.† My friends who play are the ëletís play for 12 hours at a timeí kinda gamers.† So we are mostly together; always.
She will be gone so soon.† There will be time for Karen time.† Now I just want to be Keileeís Mommy.† It is the best ëJob Titleî I have ever held.
†Here are† 2 of my favorite ìMommy/Keileeî stories.
When Keilee was about 3 or 4 she would drive me crazy asking me to change her Barbieís clothes.† Every 30 minutes all day long.† Why do they make those stinking clothes so hard to get on and off???† So I had a brilliant idea!† Instead of changing their clothes, I would jerk off their cute little heads and stick it on the other body! Voila!† Years later I told Keilee this story and she said, ìI always wondered why my Barbies always had different color bodies and headsî 😉
KeileeÖaround 2 years old Ö.I was playing a game online, she was watching a movie; probably The Wizard of Oz since she watched that back to back to back every day for 3 MONTHS!† She came up to me and said, ìI have something on my finger, get it off pwease.î† What did I do?† I looked, saw a little dot and stuck it in my mouth.† Guess what it was?† Yes, I ate Keileeís booger!!† Is that TRUE MOTHER LOVE or what???
April 30th was my birthday.† This is what Keilee wrote on my birthday card:
Mommy,
Thank you for always being the calm one.† Thank you for always being there for me.
Thank you for being the amazing Mom that you are.† Thank you for every meal you have ever cooked, every dish you have ever washed, every shirt, pants or shoes you have ever bought me, every drive to another city to take me to play practice or field trips or classes, every time you told me everything would be alright, every kiss and hug, every good night kiss, every dance in the rain, every cuddle or snuggle.† But most of all thank you for making me who I am today.
Love,
Keilee
†No words in the world could be as sweet as these are….
Motherhood Rocks!
Karen
Being a full-time mother is one of the highest salaried jobs in my field, since the payment is pure love.† ~Mildred B. Vermont
Sweater, n.:† garment worn by child when its mother is feeling chilly.† ~Ambrose Bierce
What do girls do who haven’t any mothers to help them through their troubles?†† ~Louisa May Alcott (Littler Women, 1868)
Be sure to join Susan at “Learning All The Time” for tomorrow’s post on Motherhood!† I can’t wait.
“We have a unique closeness, a language almost all of our own. Laughter, silliness, joy, love mark the passage of our days.” That is so gorgeous! You are a talented writer, Karen. I literally laughed out loud over the Barbie story. Resourceful! A bit disturbing, but very resourceful. 😛 Just kidding, of course. I absolutely love Kei’s letter too. I’d give anything to hear words like that from any of my kids.
It is very beautiful watching you be a mom. Thank you for the privilege.
I have tagged you for some fun…
http://homeschooljournal-bergblog.blogspot.com/2012/05/11-on-11th.html
You have a gift for words, Karen, and you are an inspiration to all other moms.
i’ve often wondered how you do it, karen. a full-time-homeschoolin’-single-mama. you seem to be a gift to each other… i always feel that in your posts. keilee’s words to you on your birthday? priceless, indeed!! but the booger? i have no words. ha!!
Oh, I love this, Karen. You are an amazing mom. It’s so clear just how much you enjoy Kei’s company, appreciate and admire her, and she feels the same for you! You guys are such a beautiful team. I just LOVE her card. Happy Happy Birthday and Happy Mother’s Day and Happy Every Day to you both!
(And the Barbie and Booger stories were a riot. I’d love to sit and hear all your little Kei stories. More please! 🙂 )
Wow! I don’t think you ever could receive a better birthday present than that! I’m so thankful, too, that I can have so many wonderful moments with my kids every day and not have to live most of our days apart. I know so many mothers who get excited every single time they can get away from their kids. I just can’t understand that at all.
Also, I’ll never forget when your birthday is either, since it’s the day after my twins’ birthday!
This is simply a beautiful post!! I was reading this earlier while I was in the waiting room at the doctors office…I was both laughing and then about to cry. I had to control myself because I wasn’t the only one in the waiting room 😀
Seriously, your relationship with your girl is a wondrous thing!
What a beautiful post! Wow, the words that your daughter wrote you in your card brought tears to my eyes! What a precious relationship the two of you have! And you are a super-mom for many reasons, but the booger story definitely takes the cake, my friend! 😉 Many blessings to you and your daughter always! Lisa
Most people would have gotten a tissue. Without analyzing what was ON the finger. Just thought that needed to be said. I suppose as long as you learned from it….
Alyssa made me a Mother’s Day card when she was eight.
“Happy Mother’s Day to a mom who’s sturdy and reliable.”
What a sweet post. I’ve been contemplating a lot the time when Davan leaves the nest, as she’s threatening to do it early to pursue her dreams and will be gone for two months out of the next seven, so I’ll get a little taste of it all. When I really think about it, I break down! So, I try to put it out of my mind.
I have also had the trouble of expecting too much of Davan, particularly around 12 or so. It seemed like she was so grown up, but she was still a child and needed to be given space to be one. I think this was in part because it was just her and me so often that I’d forget how children her age acted until I spent time with her friends.
I love this! I got tears in my eyes…your love for Keilee shines through!
I can’t believe you ate her booger! lol!
WOW…that dot on the finger story, sent me into a fit of laughter on the floor! You sound like one amazing Mom and person! My hat is off to you…being a single Mom and homeschooling! Praying many years of blessings over you!
Friend, our lives are so similar it is scary. I can so relate to my time alone getting an adult series or movie and watching it in my bedroom!!! 😉
I love your words, “Laughter, silliness, joy, love, mark the passage of our days.”
Beautiful!
I hope its how my girls remember our time together.
You and Kei are truly blessed.