{No. 1: Live} The Privilege of Being a Mom

I just had my second baby and today I felt like a mom. What I thought was going to be a leisurely and luxurious two hours at the Shoppes at Mission Viejo with my two-month old son, Carter, while my husband took our older son, Dylan, to see "Cars 2," just didn't quite come to fruition.  In my mind, I was certain that my newborn baby would simply, and smoothly, fall fast alseep on the long-distance jaunt from Macy's to Nordstrom.  Where upon I would continue on my agenda to the Nordstrom Cafe for a Mixed Berry Salad and glass of champagne to celebrate my solace and acute mothering skills.  (As you will soon come to realize, I almost always plan every moment of free time I get around where I can find the best food for where I'm going to be.)  My son, however, had other plans.  What should have been a seamless stroll as I gazed upon the innocent face of my dreaming child quickly turned into a rushed track race of lap after lap as those those big blue eyes stared me down and those lungs sounded off firmly in this stand-off.  So, as my "stroll" was ramping up to a "workout," I stopped.  I cut loose the fantasy of a quiet, intimate lunch with myself and embraced the truth.  I parked my stroller--just short of the promise land-- and picked up my son. Thus, began the pacing.  Back and forth, back and forth, comforting my son...he instantly stopped crying. I was at peace.

Soon thereafter, I experienced the real assurance.  The nod, from those who had come before me, condoling me with glances of pride and wishfulness, approval and longing.  Mom after mom, generations of all kind, exited the escalator and saw me with me son and smiled...not one didn't.  Each saw memories of themselves and of the moments that seem to slip by so quickly.  Each seemed to breathe into my present moment and preserve it.  Time moved slower, as it does when your heart is beating in appreciation.  Some stopped to talk and tell me their memories and one even shared that she was expecting after 13 years.  I felt connected, belonging to an unspoken sorority of moms who know what a privilege it is to be just that: a mom.  And today, that's ultimately what I felt.  Salad forgone, champagne forgone, solace forgone...I felt privileged and I'm honored that I get to love my kids :)