Erma Bombeck. One of the funniest and most honest women ever to grace this earth. My mom has loved Erma for as long as I can remember. She reminds me a little of my mom actually. My mom and her amazing parents. Just laugh at your crazy, stressful, messy life. Here is one of our favorite columns I've been thinking about alot this week. It's fairly long...but so worth the read.
Everyone said Sharon was a terrific mother.
Her neighbors said it.
Sharon painted the inside of her garbage cans with enamel, grew her own vegetables, cut her own grass every week, made winter coats for the entire family from remnants, donated blood and baked Barbara Mandrell a doll cake for her birthday.
Her mother said it.
Sharon drove her to the doctor’s when she had an appointment, color-coordinated the children’s clothes and put them in labeled drawers, laundered aluminum foil and used it again, planned family reunions, wrote her Congressman, cut everyone’s hair and knew her health insurance policy number by heart.
Her children’s teacher said it.
She helped her children every night with their homework, delivered her son’s paper route when it rained, packed nutritious lunches with little raised faces on the sandwiches, was homeroom mother, belonged to five car pools and once blew up 234 balloons by herself for the seventh grade cotillion.
Her husband said it.
Sharon washed the car when it rained, saved antifreeze from year to year, paid all the bills, arranged their social schedule, sprayed the garden for bugs, moved the hose during the summer, put the children on their backs at night to make sure they didn’t sleep on their faces, and once found a twelve-dollar error on a tax return filed by H & R Block.
Her best friend said it.
Sharon build a bed out of scraps left over from the patio, crocheted a Santa Claus to cover the extra roll of toilet paper at Christmastime, washed fruit before her children ate it, learned to play the harpsichord, kept a Boston fern alive for a whole year, and when the group ate lunch out, Sharon always figured out who owed what.
Her minister said it.
Sharon found time to read all the dirty books and campaign against them. She played guitar at evening services. She corresponded with a poor family in Guatemala…in SPANISH. She put together a cookbook to raise funds for a new coffee maker for the church. She collected door to door for all the health organizations.
Sharon was one of those women blessed with a knack for being organized. She planned a “theme party” for the dog’s birthday, made her children elaborate Halloween costumes out of old grocery bags and her knots came out just right on the shoelaces when they broke. She put a basketball hoop over the clothes hanger as an incentive for good habits, started seedlings in a toilet paper spindle, and insulated their house with empty egg cartons, which everyone else threw away.
Sharon kept a schedule that would have brought any other women to her knees. Need twenty-five women to chaperone a party? Give the list to Sharon. Need a mother to convert the school library to the Dewey Decimal System? Call Sharon. Need someone to organize a block party, garage sale or a school festival? Get Sharon.
Sharon was a SUPER MOM!Her gynecologist said it.Her butcher said it. Her tennis partner said it.Her children…
Her children never said it.
They spent a lot of time with Rick’s mother, who was always home and who ate cookies out of a box and played games with them.
Sometimes I feel like my kids lives are getting away from me. I don't want to wish I spent more time with them. I don't want to have a list of regrets. I'm trying to be really honest about what I have in my life that distracts me from my kids. Those things that THEY are understanding to be more important than them. NOTHING is more important than them. Not blogs, crafts, books, phone calls, tv...nothing.
Molly is obsessed with this game called Zingo. It's supposed to be for ages 4-8, but she totally gets it...and asks for it several times a day. If you're on the hunt for great games to play with your little ones...this is one of the best. Helps them learn new words. Yesterday, we sat on the floor together twice and did the Zingo thing. My goal was NO computer while she was awake. I almost did it. And you know what? I was happier.
Everyone said Sharon was a terrific mother.
Her neighbors said it.
Sharon painted the inside of her garbage cans with enamel, grew her own vegetables, cut her own grass every week, made winter coats for the entire family from remnants, donated blood and baked Barbara Mandrell a doll cake for her birthday.
Her mother said it.
Sharon drove her to the doctor’s when she had an appointment, color-coordinated the children’s clothes and put them in labeled drawers, laundered aluminum foil and used it again, planned family reunions, wrote her Congressman, cut everyone’s hair and knew her health insurance policy number by heart.
Her children’s teacher said it.
She helped her children every night with their homework, delivered her son’s paper route when it rained, packed nutritious lunches with little raised faces on the sandwiches, was homeroom mother, belonged to five car pools and once blew up 234 balloons by herself for the seventh grade cotillion.
Her husband said it.
Sharon washed the car when it rained, saved antifreeze from year to year, paid all the bills, arranged their social schedule, sprayed the garden for bugs, moved the hose during the summer, put the children on their backs at night to make sure they didn’t sleep on their faces, and once found a twelve-dollar error on a tax return filed by H & R Block.
Her best friend said it.
Sharon build a bed out of scraps left over from the patio, crocheted a Santa Claus to cover the extra roll of toilet paper at Christmastime, washed fruit before her children ate it, learned to play the harpsichord, kept a Boston fern alive for a whole year, and when the group ate lunch out, Sharon always figured out who owed what.
Her minister said it.
Sharon found time to read all the dirty books and campaign against them. She played guitar at evening services. She corresponded with a poor family in Guatemala…in SPANISH. She put together a cookbook to raise funds for a new coffee maker for the church. She collected door to door for all the health organizations.
Sharon was one of those women blessed with a knack for being organized. She planned a “theme party” for the dog’s birthday, made her children elaborate Halloween costumes out of old grocery bags and her knots came out just right on the shoelaces when they broke. She put a basketball hoop over the clothes hanger as an incentive for good habits, started seedlings in a toilet paper spindle, and insulated their house with empty egg cartons, which everyone else threw away.
Sharon kept a schedule that would have brought any other women to her knees. Need twenty-five women to chaperone a party? Give the list to Sharon. Need a mother to convert the school library to the Dewey Decimal System? Call Sharon. Need someone to organize a block party, garage sale or a school festival? Get Sharon.
Sharon was a SUPER MOM!Her gynecologist said it.Her butcher said it. Her tennis partner said it.Her children…
Her children never said it.
They spent a lot of time with Rick’s mother, who was always home and who ate cookies out of a box and played games with them.
Sometimes I feel like my kids lives are getting away from me. I don't want to wish I spent more time with them. I don't want to have a list of regrets. I'm trying to be really honest about what I have in my life that distracts me from my kids. Those things that THEY are understanding to be more important than them. NOTHING is more important than them. Not blogs, crafts, books, phone calls, tv...nothing.
Molly is obsessed with this game called Zingo. It's supposed to be for ages 4-8, but she totally gets it...and asks for it several times a day. If you're on the hunt for great games to play with your little ones...this is one of the best. Helps them learn new words. Yesterday, we sat on the floor together twice and did the Zingo thing. My goal was NO computer while she was awake. I almost did it. And you know what? I was happier.
6 comments:
What a great post. Thanks for that reminder. I love Erma--my Mom read her too. I have memories of reading her columns when I was younger--maybe I'll be making an Erma run to the Library. Hmmm . . .
I have a lot to say. But I'm not sure how. Thank you for making me think, though.
You are darling! What a great post. I am inspired!
I've heard of Erma, but never read her. But that post was great. Even though I only have one kid, I've found myself saying the same thing. Is blogging more important than playing with him and making him laugh? No. That's why when I've been working I haven't been keeping up on blogging. When I'm home, I'm with him. He is my world and I want him to know that he was always first. Another story...one of my good friends is a clean freak and one day her 4 year old said, "Mom, do you like to clean the house more than you like to play with me?" That put things into perspective really fast, and now she's focused on her kids first, house second.
Oh, and thanks for the Zingo tip! I'll have to remember that, or go buy it now and put it in the "future" toy tub.
I've never heard of Erma, but now want to read her columns. I totally agree with you about spending time with your kids. It seems to me that your kids will always be calling you the best mom ever!
I totally didn't expect the end of that story - I was just trying to understand how she could do so much - but if you don't have your kids with you, you do accomplish a lot more. But to everything there is a season. I feel better now because today I have been trying to figure out why I haven't done more than bill paying and laundry but running 3 kids to school at 3 different times (one missed the bus, one went in late cuz he didn't feel well, and one went on the regular schedule) breakfast, lunch, clean up, naps, diaper changes etc... This is why I don't insulate the house with egg cartons!
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