Confessions of a Single Mom

The key to any good story is the beginning; you have to get the reader hooked!  So tonight my title is Confessions of a Single Mom.   It just sounds like something other would like to read.   Not me because it is probably a book that has Fabio on the cover and I do not read those types of books.  This post will be about some confessions that must be made after the last few weeks.  (Again, it really has the reader interested, I hope.)

My first confession is I work too hard, this might not be a news flash to anyone that knows me but there it is anyway.  I need to learn how to relax; I guess I really stink at it.  How do you solve this problem?  I really don’t know.   I just finished Dan Brown’s latest book Inferno and it was about Dante’s book about the 7 deadly sins.  I might be in trouble on a few of them but slothfulness is not one of them.  I would love to sit down and relax for a few days but, I don’t know how.   I guess my next goal will have to be learning how to relax. 

My second confession is I love my friends.  It has been hard for me this summer as I have had to say good-bye to some of my closest friends.  I am different from a lot of people that grew up in Utah because my closest friends are not Mormons.  Shocking!  I know, now if you lived in Utah this might be a problem for some people, not all but there are some “Utah Mormons” that would not like this at all!  I have been blessed to have people from different faiths come into my life and remind me why faith is an important aspect in people’s lives. 

My third confession is sometimes I worry about the little things and let them consume me.  I have some huge fears in my life, they are not real to anyone else but to me they are life and death.  This week I took huge steps in conquering those fears.  No, I am not going to skydive because standing on a chair is about as high as I want to go up in the air. However, those fears are real and for me to even attempt conquering those are huge.  The biggest problem when conquering your fears is you might have to really deal with them.  I have opened Pandora ’s Box and now I have to be ready to deal with the outcome. This is very scary for me.

My fourth confession is being a mom is the greatest job in the world.  It is hard and some days I really stink at it.  Not just kind of stink at it but really stink.  Father’s Day is tough on me because it is another day to remind me of what I do not have.  This Father’s Day I thought long and hard about if I had made different choices many years ago, I might not be the mom to three wonderful kids.  What a blessing it is to be a mom.  My bucket list only has only ever included three things and this has always been on top. 

My last confession was something I heard today.  “Treat everyone kindly and with respect.  Pull a Sherry!”  I had someone pass away that I knew this week.  She was a wonderful teacher, counselor, and mentor to those around her.  Today her children spoke about how wonderful their mother was.  She always looked for the good in everyone.  I used to do that, now part of me is jaded by life that I do not do that as freely as I should.  That is hard to type or even say out loud because I was not raised to be that way.  I was raised to be kind to everyone.   I hope that I can work on this so that my kids learn this principle from me. 

These might not seem like juicy confessions but remember I am “G” rated. 

My Life as a Movie Rating

I wanted to write on Memorial Day weekend, but what I wanted to say was not Memorial Day weekend appropriate.  If you live in Lake Havasu there is a misconception that Memorial Day weekend is a time to go to the lake and earn beads. I am not saying that Lake Havasu doesn’t have those that know what the holiday is for, but we live in a tourist town that needs money and big holiday weekends are the times to make the money. 

The other day I was talking to Tyler and as a film major he explained that if I was a film rating I would be rated G.  I thought about that long and hard.  I know that it is probably true; I am a rated G movie.  The problem I have with that is that my idea of a G rated movie.  I think if I took a poll of what movies do you think of when you think of G rated movies the Disney Princess movies would come to mind.  I have nothing against princess movies, but this is where my life does not reflect that idea. 

I first think of Snow White, she lives with seven small men and cooks and cleans.  I don’t have any small male roommates and the cooking thing does not work for me.  Then, I thought of Sleeping Beauty, well I think we can all see the problems in this movie, the sleeping alone is an issue for me.  I then think of Cinderella, well I do think I am more like her locked up in the top tower only coming out to work but even that will not work.  I do not live in a large house with a tower.  The closest princess I could come up with for my life is Mulan.

Why Mulan you might ask, well here are my ideas.  First, Mulan knows the importance of tradition.   When the movie opens you see her worrying about how to make her parents happy.  She is worried that she will not impress the matchmaker and bring disgrace to her family.  I do understand that!  I am a woman of tradition.  I believe that there are traditional roles for men and women.  Then Mulan realizes what she must do to save her family.  She must go against what she believes in and more importantly what tradition dictates her to do.  Mulan goes against what she has been taught not to hurt anyone but to save her family. 

In two years I have had to give up a lot of my traditional thinking.  This does not mean I have given up my traditions, but just my thinking.  I still believe that people should be married.  I think that there are men and women jobs.  I can lift heavy boxes, but I do not feel like that is my job.  I feel like my job is to cook and clean (I know I stink at cooking) but it is my job.  While I might be a G rated movie, I am not a princess that needs to be saved.  I would love to have a handsome prince ride up on his white horse and save me especially if he was wearing a cowboy hat.  However, right now I am happy learning to take care of myself and my kids.  However, if you know a prince send him my way.