about my mom

May is here, the month of Mother's Day, although I really think Mothers deserve an entire month, not just a single day, of recognition.  And with that in mind, I want to talk a little about my mom.  I love my mom.  She is a fantastic mom, and grandma, and we have a fantastic relationship, and I am so thankful for all of it.  And because I love her and she knows it, and because I think she's fabulous and she knows it, I'm going to tell some stories about the things my mother does that drive me crazy - things she allows my daughter to do, that are really harmless and sort of funny, and yet, they drive me crazy because they make more work for me.

Like yesterday, my mom gives an M&M to Laci just as we are leaving to go home.  I don't mind if Laci eats an M&M, or two, or even fifty.  What I do mind is that she holds the M&M in her hand halfway home, and yes, M&M's DO melt in your hand if you hold them long enough.  A melty M&M isn't so bad, unless you're one year old.  So, halfway home, as I'm driving, Laci has a meltdown because there is chocolate all over her hands and it is obviously going to cause some sort of physical harm if not removed immediately.  After explaining to Laci that I can't do a thing about the melting chocolate while I'm driving, I decide to hand her a baby wipe and tell her to wipe her hands.  Which she does, and much to my surprise, gets most of the chocolate off (I'm watching her in the rear view mirror, which I do all the time lately, and it isn't very safe for driving because I forget to watch where I'm going).  Then she proceeds to wipe her shoes, which is fine with me.  Then she proceeds to tear the baby wipe into 50 tiny little pieces, which I don't mind either, except that she wants to hand the pieces to me as I'm driving.  And I think to myself how amazing it is that I haven't wrecked my car yet with all these distractions.  Once home, I set Laci free from the her melted chocolate torture chair and attempt to wipe the chocolate out of the nooks and crannies of the carseat so that next time we go for a drive, she won't have chocolate all over her bottom (which, incidentally, has happened before).  Obviously, this isn't a terrible event in our lives, and I can even find humor in it, but really?  Did she really need that one blue M&M for the trip home?  Or do you think maybe she would have been just fine without it?

Or there is this morning's incident.  At brunch.  In a restaurant.  I'm arguing with Laci about having to sit at the table instead of running around and my mom puts her on the ground and says, "Now you stay right here."  Really, mom?  Do you really expect this 20 month old who is crawling out of her own skin to stand still in the restaurant?  Did you really think that was going to work?  Well, it did, for about two minutes, then Laci and I went for a walk outside.  Then my mom and Laci went for a walk outside.  Then Aunty Beth and Laci went for a walk outside.  Then it was time to leave because brunch was over and Laci still wanted to walk.

Or there is the time in Costco when my mom lets Laci out of the cart so she can walk with us.  That is, until Laci decides she doesn't want to walk WITH us anymore.  So she takes off in the opposite direction and when I grab her arm, she flops on the floor like a fish and proceeds to scream and writhe on the floor.  That shopping trip ends with me carrying Laci under my arm like a football.

Or there is the EVERYtime Laci asks for something and she gets it, just because she is little and cute and no one wants to tell her "No" except her daddy and me.

I think you get the theme here.  I love telling these stories, because it shows that grandparents really do spoil their grandkids and I really don't mind.  Really, I don't.  Because Laci loves her "mommom" and "bopbop," as she calls them, and I would hate for her to grow up without knowing them.  But sometimes, I don't think "No" is the worst thing you can say to a baby.

It makes me think about how I'm not always the mother I thought I was going to be, and it makes me think about how hard my mom has worked at being who she is.  And I think about what kind of grandparent I'm going to be, and I will most likely never say "No" to my grandchildren either.  It will be their parent's job to say the "No's" and I'll just say "Yes" to everything.  Even melting M&M's in the car, and running through stores, and freeplay in restaurants.