Happy Mother's Day

When I graduated from Penn, the furthest thing from my mind was motherhood. I entered a buying program with Gimbels, and began my journey of various jobs throughout the years. I moved on to being an assistant buyer for designer childrens clothes for clients in the south. I then went on to sell Petit Bateau to individual stores. And, then, when I became pregnant, I opened a jewelry company out of my house called Karat Patch (I still love the name). As the girls got a little older, I sold advertising for town guidebooks that were distributed to local realtors, schools, and colleges. I became an activities director for an assisted living facility, and finally, I acquired my current insurance license to sell life and health insurance which I have had for 15 years. As I mentioned above, the idea of raising children was the furthest thought from my mind. I hadn't given any consideration as to how to raise two beautiful, independent daughters. Truthfully, when I was growing up, my parents didn't encourage me to make my own way in the world; or to have a career, or to be independent financially. Noone took me to colleges for tours, helped me fill out the applications, or provided me with SAT courses. I was flying solo and had to figure it all out pretty much on my own. When I did become a parent, I took on the hardest job of my life.There had been no training for this. No college courses-I was winging it. I was now the CEO of my family, and my home. Not only was I a teacher, but I had manage the bills, the home repairs, the interior design, the planting and landscaping, the travel plans, the cleaning, and the meal preparation. Most importantly, I was in charge of these two precious girls. Caring for them and protecting them from danger became my most challenging opportunity yet. I couldn't or wouldn't screw this up! Parenting involves so much learning as you go. Sure there are how to books, but every child is different. You can think you do or say the exact same thing to siblings. One will see it as helpful, another will be insulted that you think they need help. And one will just say F--k ff and totally ignore you. Injuries are super challenging! You don't want to over react and scare the daylights out of them, but you certainly don't want to under react and land them in the hospital-it is a very fine line. Rushing to activities or school when you have more than one child is a dilemma too. School begins and ends at different times and often is at different locations. Activities and playdates interfere with a sibling's naptime. It can be a nightmare. And don't even think about when your taking a work call if you also have a job outside of the home. Another aspect of parenting is promoting individual interests and creativity. Encourage your children to embrace their differences and learn to accept others uniquenes and talents as well. They must show kindness and compassion. They must also understand they can't excel at all things, but they should try their best at everything. With sports, a parent needs to stress the importance of being a team player and how one should exhibit good sportsmanship. So, today I want to pay tribute to all the Moms out there. We all try our best, but we don't always get it right. There's lots of trial and error. Believe me, I have tried hard to shape my daughters into strong, intelligent, kind, independent women that handle careers and family seamlessly. They have both grown into mothers that I am so incredibly proud of. Sometimes they'll get it right, sometimes they'll get it wrong, sometimes they'll blame me, and sometimes they will feel grateful that I tried my best and now, as moms themselves, they realize that being a parent isn't an easy road to navigate. It's the hardest job we will ever have. But it is the MOST rewarding (And yes, sometimes it's thankless). The other day as I was watching the movie In and Out with my grandson, it occured to me that my role as mom was alot like the role of Riley, the preteen, in the movie. I, too, have experiemced those five major emotions in my role as a mom: there has been fear, sadness, anger, disgust. But, truly the protagonist of my emotions as a mother is JOY! There has ALWAYS BEEN JOY! There is no better experience in this world-Except maybe, being a Grandmother! Happy Mother's Day to my girls and all the Moms out there! Peace Out! One B