# Hey Mom's **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 12, 2000, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-moms/19334 "2000-05-12T12:55:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Girlbysea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Girlbysea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Girlbysea)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2000, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-moms/19334/1 "2000-05-12T12:55:34Z")
I know there are some great mom’s out there. I can tell by reading your post. So many of you have wonderful hearts. Our kids are so special and your friendship on this board means the world to many of us… ---
**Author:** ![Needs2know](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5e925/32.png) [@Needs2know](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Needs2know)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2000, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-moms/19334/2 "2000-05-12T14:26:53Z")
I’m a mom but I’m not so great. I’m lazy sometimes, lose my temper to often, and don’t always set a good example. But I try, they have a roof over their heads, enough to eat, clothes (I never get any of those myself.), and I’m always around. I guess I’m not that bad when I’m not worrying about trying to be good. Needs ---
**Author:** ![h\_thur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/db5fbb/32.png) [@h\_thur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/h_thur)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2000, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-moms/19334/3 "2000-05-12T17:20:38Z")
I’m a new mom. I am single and work full time to be a good provider, so I don’t get to spend as much time with my son as I’d like. He’s 6 months old today. “they have a roof over their heads, enough to eat, clothes (I never get any of those myself.)” - **Needs2know** You don’t say… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Bubble\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c0e974/32.png) [@Bubble\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bubble_Girl)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2000, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-moms/19334/4 "2000-05-12T17:31:49Z")
> [@](#): > > **…so I don’t get to spend as much time with my son as I’d like. He’s 6 months old today.** h\_thur I’m in the same boat as you are. I’m also a single mom who works full time. But the time that I do spend with my daughter, as little as it is, is always quality time. She appreciates that more than any material item I can give her and she know that she is very much loved by me and I’m sure your son knows also how much he is loved by you. 🙂 We do the best that we are able to. ---
**Author:** ![CanadianSue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@CanadianSue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanadianSue)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2000, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-moms/19334/5 "2000-05-12T17:40:11Z")
Single mom of a spunky 9 year old here. I spend alot of quality time with my son. Lately he has been giggling alot about something he brought home from school and has stashed under his bed (a mothers day gift im assuming). He’s my sunshine, breath of fresh air and he keeps me young! ---
**Author:** ![purrplebear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/90ced4/32.png) [@purrplebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purrplebear)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2000, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-moms/19334/6 "2000-05-13T07:12:47Z")
Thank you, GBS. I am far from perfect, but I try my best. Our son is 17, graduating from high school, and has 3 scholarships for college!! He’ll be off to UTAustin in the fall. I will miss him so much… ☹ Our daughter is 15, finishing the 9th grade, and is in several honors classes. They both are kind, respectful young people, have great manners (well, ok, not at home 😛 ), are a lot of fun to be around, and I’d like to think I just may have had something to do with that. I will email you soon, GBS. Sorry for the delay. How’s the book? {{{{{{{GBS}}}}}}} ---
**Author:** ![Girlbysea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Girlbysea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Girlbysea)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2000, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-moms/19334/7 "2000-05-13T11:55:58Z")
Purplebear… The book sits beside me. I’m finished but the words will forever stay with me. Hugs back to you my friend. ---
**Author:** ![tatertot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c37758/32.png) [@tatertot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tatertot)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2000, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-moms/19334/8 "2000-05-13T13:40:47Z")
Girlbysea, you are just the sweetest thing! No wonder Chief Scott and your daughter love you so much. I love being a mom, although I’m always worried about how I’m doing. My little boy will be five this July, and he has me running ragged. They do calm down eventually, don’t they? And my big news is that my baby has a loose tooth! I’m half excited, half sad that he’s really and truly growing up. Good thing he still has those chubby baby cheeks and little button nose… ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2000, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-moms/19334/9 "2000-05-13T14:07:33Z")
Went for a walk at the nature preserve behind my house with my husband, 2 kids, and amazing beagle. It was raining pretty hard when we left. We had our raincoats on over our shorts and looked like a family of flashers. We found a turtle, and my youngest is out collecting worms for it as I write. I love being a mom. Hope everyone has a great mother’s day tomorrow. (I can’t wait to open up the packages they brought home from school for me.) Lisa ---
**Author:** ![jjjfishe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/46a35a/32.png) [@jjjfishe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjjfishe)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2000, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-moms/19334/10 "2000-05-13T14:20:50Z")
Happy Mother’s Day everyone… I can’t wait until I become a mother. I’m sure it’s the most wonderful feeling. This year my birthday falls on mothers day!!! ---
**Author:** ![ChrisCTP](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@ChrisCTP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChrisCTP)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2000, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-moms/19334/11 "2000-05-13T15:17:28Z")
Got this in an email this morning from one of the best moms I’ve ever known. Happy Mother’s Day! This is for all the mothers who DIDN’T win Mother of the Year. All the runners-up and all the wannabes. The mothers too tired to enter or too busy to care. This is for all the mothers who froze their buns off on metal bleacher at soccer games Friday night instead of watching from cars, so that when their kids asked, “Did you see my goal?” they could say, “Of course, wouldn’t have missed it for the world,” and mean it. This is for all the mothers who have sat up all night with sick toddlers in their arms, wiping up barf laced with Oscar Mayer wieners and cherry Kool-Aid saying, “It’s OK honey, Mommy’s here.” This is for all the mothers of Kosovo who fled in the night and can’t find their children. This is for the mothers who gave birth to babies they’ll never see. And the mothers who took those babies and made them homes. For all the mothers of the victims of the Colorado shooting, and the mothers of the murderers. For the mothers of the survivors, and the mothers who sat in front of their TVs in horror, hugging their child who just came home from school, safely. For all the mothers who run carpools and make cookies and sew Halloween costumes. And all the mothers who DON’T. What makes a good mother anyway? Is it patience? Compassion? Broad hips? The ability to nurse a baby, cook dinner, and sew a button on a shirt, all at the same time? Or is it heart? Is it the ache you feel when you watch your son or daughter disappear down the street, walking to school alone for the very first time? The jolt that takes you from sleep to dread, from bed to crib at 2 a.m. to put your hand on the back of a sleeping baby? The need to flee from wherever you are and hug your child when you hear news of a school shooting, a fire, a car accident, a baby dying? I think so. So this is for all the mothers who sat down with their children and explained all about making babies. And for all the mothers who wanted to but just couldn’t. This is for reading “Goodnight, Moon” twice a night for a year. And then reading it again. “Just one more time.” This is for all the mothers who mess up. Who yell at their kids in the grocery store and swat them in despair and stomp their feet like a tired 2 year old who wants ice cream before dinner. This is for all the mothers who taught their daughters to tie their shoelaces before they started school. And for all the mothers who opted for Velcro instead. For all the mothers who bite their lips-sometimes until they bleed-when their 14 year olds dye their hair green. Who lock themselves in the bathroom when babies keep crying and won’t stop. This is for all the mothers who show up at work with spit-up in their hair and milk stains on their blouses and diapers in their purse. This is for all the mothers who teach their sons to cook and their daughters to sink a jump shot. This is for all mothers whose heads turn automatically when a little voice calls Mom?" in a crowd, even though they know their own offspring are at home. This is for mothers who put pinwheels and teddy bears on their children’s graves. This is for mothers whose children have gone astray, who can’t find the words to reach them. This is for all the mothers who sent their sons to school with stomachaches, assuring them they’d be just FINE once they got there, only to get calls from the school nurse and hour later asking them to please pick them up. Right away. This is for young mothers stumbling through diaper changes and sleep deprivation. And mature mothers learning to let go. For working mothers and stay-at-home mothers. Single mothers and married mothers. Mothers with money, mothers without. This is for you all. So hang in there. “Home is what catches you when we fall ----- and we all fall.” ---
**Author:** ![purrplebear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/90ced4/32.png) [@purrplebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purrplebear)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2000, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-moms/19334/12 "2000-05-13T16:10:40Z")
\ Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Chris. \ GBS, as long as you **believe** every word of that book in your heart. See my sig. ---
**Author:** ![Diane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/2acd7d/32.png) [@Diane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diane)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2000, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-moms/19334/13 "2000-05-13T16:44:11Z")
> [@](#): > > My little boy will be five this July, and he has me running ragged. They do calm down eventually, don’t they? Take it from a mom of two boys (18 and 9) and a daughter (16), things never calm down, never, ever, ever - EVER! They only get more exhausting! I wouldn’t change it for the world. ---
**Author:** ![Girlbysea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Girlbysea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Girlbysea)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2000, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-moms/19334/14 "2000-05-13T17:09:49Z")
Purplebear… I believe every word. You and so many others are helping me to see clearly. My heart gets very heavy, but my ragpickers keep picking me up. Thanks for all of your love. Simon and Mr. OG. Truly, The Greatest Miracle in the World. My heart will always love… ---
**Author:** ![single\_files](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e7dd6/32.png) [@single\_files](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/single_files)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2000, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-moms/19334/15 "2000-05-13T17:10:35Z")
I had a hyperactive son. I can’t even count the number of times I was called to schools to discuss his ‘problem behavior’. I apoligized to neighbors for trampled flowers and rocks in their mailboxes and his habit of bolting down the street wearing nothing but cowboy boots. While his brother and sister were taught manners and the art of being a productive human being, my single goal with this one was to keep him (and everyone else) in one piece. I could go on forever, but what I really want to say is … Last night, after huddling protectively over his wife for 24 hours, his daughter was born. She is beautiful, and watching him cradling her, I knew without a doubt that he was worth every bit of effort that went into him. ---
**Author:** ![Girlbysea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Girlbysea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Girlbysea)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2000, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-moms/19334/16 "2000-05-13T17:19:05Z")
ChrisCTP… What a beautiful reply. Thank you for the beautiful words. There’s no other love like the love of a mother. A father’s love is so very special but the love of a mother can never be repeated. I miss my mom, but her love will be with me forever… ---
**Author:** ![TaleraRis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@TaleraRis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TaleraRis)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2000, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-moms/19334/17 "2000-05-14T09:55:47Z")
I never wanted to be a mom, but I wouldn’t give up little Simon for the world now. Although I do have to admit, Jophiel’s much better with children than I am. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![CanadianSue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@CanadianSue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanadianSue)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2000, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-moms/19334/18 "2000-05-14T14:05:36Z")
Before I was a Mom I made and ate hot meals. I had unstained clothing. I had quiet conversations on the phone. Before I was a Mom I slept as late as I wanted And never worried about how late I got into bed. I brushed my hair and my teeth everyday. Before I was Mom I cleaned my house each day. I never tripped over toys or forgot words to lullabies. Before I was a Mom I didn’t worry whether or not my plants were poisonous. I never thought about immunizations. Before I was a Mom I had never been puked on Pooped on Spit on Chewed on Peed on Or pinched by tiny fingers Before I was a Mom I had complete control of my mind My thoughts My body And my mind. I slept all night. Before I was a Mom I never held down a screaming child So that doctors could do tests Or give shots. I never looked into teary eyes and cried. I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin. I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep. Before I was a Mom I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn’t want to put it down. I never felt my heart break into a million pieces When I couldn’t stop the hurt. I never knew that something so small Could affect my life so much. I never knew that I could love someone so much. I never knew I would love being a Mom. Before I was a Mom I didn’t know the feeling of having my heart outside my body. I didn’t know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby. I didn’t know that bond between a Mother and her child. I didn’t know that something so small Could make me feel so important. Before I was a Mom I had never gotten up in the middle of the night Every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay I had never known the warmth The joy The love The heartache The wonderfulment Or the satisfaction of being a Mom. I didn’t know I was capable of feeling so much before I was a Mom. Happy Mothers Day to you all! ---
**Author:** ![Persephone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@Persephone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Persephone)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2000, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-moms/19334/19 "2000-05-14T14:23:37Z")
Happy Mother’s Day to everyone, and I do mean everyone. Single mothers, married mothers, step-mothers, adoptive mothers, birthmothers, expectant mothers, fathers-who-are-mothers, grandmothers, great-grandmothers, great-great-grandmothers, mothers-of-kids-who-aren’t-yours-but-they-call-you-mom-anyway… I think you get my point. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![ultress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/7c8e57/32.png) [@ultress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultress)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2000, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-moms/19334/20 "2000-05-14T14:53:08Z")
Happy Mother’s Day to all. Being a mother is the hardest work in the world, but also the most fulfilling. As all mothers know, words cannot describe the feelings and emotions that kids can draw from you. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-moms/19334.md?page=2)