The Mom I WANT to be....
by Pam P.

I had one of those brief, all to infrequent moments this morning where I was able to say with absolute certainty that I was being the Mom that I truly WANT to be. Not the mom that the books suggest, or the television shows, or my friends or relatives. The Mom that I, ME, PAM want to be.

We had a great service today at church - a series titled We Build, that has so far talked about strengthening marriage in ways that I am so excited to try. He mentioned the rain at one point, and my friend and I rolled our eyes at each other, dreading having to get us in dresses, kids, backpacks, Bibles and purses out to the car in the rain. After, I picked up Cameron, and as we got to the glass doors, his face lit up and he said "Mommy, God told it to rain! It's raining outside! Isn't that GREAT?" I thought 'Great, sure........ wet clothes sitting in new van seats......... just great.'

Then I opened the doors and we walked out. My beautiful son looked up at the sky, held open his palms and smiled. A really HAPPY smile. At that point, I shifted the purse, Bible and backpack and took off my shoes, grabbed his sweet little hand and said "It sure is great, baby. Let's go find a puddle to jump in." His face lit up, completely shocked, and we ran and jumped in every puddle between the church and the van. (And we go to a large church, so it's quite the distance to cover!!) We laughed, and splashed, and jumped. People in their cars were watching us, some in horror and some in delight.

But for that few minutes........... those wet, hilarious minutes, I was the Mom that I truly want to be. I want to always see the rain as growth........ for the grass, for me, for Cameron. I want to see puddles as fun, and remember how lucky I am that God entrusted this boy into my care. I want to always take the moments that are so much fun to him, even if it means wet shoes and socks that have to be washed. There is not much more fun to a little boy than puddle jumping. Today, there wasn't anything more fun to a 33 year old little girl, either.

Ever had one of those?

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