Friday, April 29, 2011

Royal Mommies

I am sure by now you are tired of hearing about the royal wedding. It’s everywhere we turn, all over our media.

I on the other hand, have loved the attention the royal wedding is getting. I am a notorious wedding lover; I love attending weddings, planning weddings and getting caught up in all the details. I am also a Mom to a Princess myself and that Princess has been looking forward to watching this event for awhile.  Thanks to DVR I didn’t have to get up at 3 AM to allow her to watch it. Instead, tonight we will have makeovers, dress up, and watch the royal affair.

Far away from London this morning, in our "palace", we were in our typical morning rush. So we could only watch a few minutes of the festivities. While the beautiful bride, now a married Princess, stood and waved at adoring fans from the balcony, high on her pedestal, there I was, on a mission to find a clean shirt for the kids, juggling L climbing up my knee with one hand while combing J’s hair with the other and listening to my husband yell down from upstairs “Where are the kids’ socks??”.

As a Mom, I am anything but “Royal”. Sure I had my chance to have my princess wedding day, but after I became a Mom, I walked away from my crown and joined the life of a servant. Now instead of being swept off my feet by my Prince Charming, I am sweeping up after him and three kids in my kitchen. The only royal Caravan I travel in is brought to you by Dodge. The only time I get the door opened for me anymore is when I hit the automatic door button on my keychain!

Now I am not complaining, as I would never trade my life for anything. But you can’t help but watch a royal wedding and not wonder what it would feel like to have the world in awe of you, to be treated like a Princess, to have everything done for you.

The life of a Mom is about as far away from a Princess as it comes. There the Princess stood adored by millions of people. Here I am handling the lives of three children, one husband, a dog, and two cats without any notice or recognition. My children and my husband are completely oblivious to all I have a hand in in their lives.
If you ever want to put this to the test, for one week go a little lax on what you normally do. There was a particularly busy week in my life awhile back where work was crazy and so when I got home, the last thing I wanted to do was clean the house, or organize anything. And all I would hear that week was “Mom, I can’t walk in my room, why is it so messy?”; “Honey, I can’t find any of my t-shirts”; “Mom, didn’t we have mac and cheese on Monday?”; “Honey, I can’t figure out if this bill was paid this week”. During that week my kids and husband got a taste of just how much I am doing behind the scenes to keep this house going. Yes, I can assure you I was well recognized that week!

Moms are a lot like directors of Hollywood movies. They run the show, create everything, make sure it runs smoothly, direct everyone where to stand and what to say. But think about it,  when a movie makes it big it’s the actors that get all the credit and no one even knows who directed the film!  Instead all of the director’s vision, all her hard work is boiled down to a name that is rushed on the screen at the beginning of the movie.

Now of course there are exceptions, the James Camerons, the Steven Spielbergs; directors who no matter what get their due credit. And with Moms it's no exception; for we all know those Moms who we idolize, who seem to have it all, have healthy, well-behaved, and always smiling kids. The Moms who’s kids in unison say “You’re the best Mom”. The Moms that can balance a schedule that would make most of us go cross eyed.

But for the remainder of us Moms, we remain behind the scenes, living our normal, un-royal, un-regal lives. We do it all and wait for the small moments of recognition: a “this dinner is amazing honey” from our husband, or a “You’re my best friend Mommy” from our three year old or the look in our baby’s eyes when he reaches for us. Those small gestures provide us a glimpse of feeling royal.  

So, my fellow behind the scenes Moms, try not to forget that we are the true “royals” the true “princesses”. We are the ones that should be waiving on a balcony for all the world to see. We carry the world on our shoulders, we juggle 1000 balls, and we do it all without getting our day in the sun.
So I hereby dub myself Mandi: Baroness of Bedtime Stories; Duchess of Laundry; Princess of Boo-Boo Fixing; Highness of Hugs and Kisses. Hmm…maybe I should borrow my daughter’s tiara the next time I vacuum.

 Have a great day royal Mommies!

Mandi

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