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Hi! I'm Somebody's Mom!
When’s
the last time you’ve heard that as an introduction? Probably
never! Yet, I distinctly remember one time when it happened!
OK!
I’m probably going to date myself with this statement, but it appeared
as a COMMERCIAL! No… not recently.
Picture
this: you are watching the TV and a commercial breaks. You hear the words,
“Hi! I’m somebody’s mom!” and in rolls a stereotyped mother,
complete with marcelled hair, a nice necklace, a tea length A-style dress,
riding on an eggbeater! Do I remember what she was selling? NO. Do
I remember the product sponsors? NO.
But
the image is stuck in my mind for eternity! Now, can you guess my age?
Does Rosie and the “quick picker-upper” ring a bell? How about a white
tornado and a genie?
I’ve
often wondered to myself why that image stuck in my mind for so long. The
image I can understand, but the words, “Hi! I’m somebody’s mom!”
took me a little longer to figure out. It really has to do with
credibility.
In
the days before commercials became artistic statements, the experts cited
to prove that a home product was valuable were MOMS! So the actresses
portraying us were fixed up to appear as the stereotypical, All-American
Mom! The name “MOM” alone was enough to sell the product.
Sadly,
the name “Mom” doesn’t hold that clout anymore! I really don’t
understand why! There seems to be an infinite variety of Moms out there in
the world. There are single moms. There are married moms who stay at home.
There are single moms who stay at home – Wow! There are work-at-home
moms. There are moms who volunteer and should be called working moms.
There are moms with full-time outside jobs. There are moms with part-time
jobs. There are moms with home businesses. There are moms who are leaders
and organizers of support groups for moms; moms who are members of support
groups. My list can go on and on and on! Freelance moms, moms with empty
nests, moms of toddlers, moms of preschoolers, moms of the pre-teens, moms
of teenagers! Moms of adopted children, moms of foster children…
political moms. Pastoral moms, even moms with no biological children, but
have “adopted” unofficially some poor lost souls into their hearts.
I’ve noticed that teens love to adopt moms.
My
point is that real moms tend to be the adhesive that binds our society
together. We’re not just moms because we gave biological birth. Giving
birth is just the beginning of a training session called parenthood. In
this training session, we learn the fine art of Momhood. I’m a mom of
teens and I can see that my Momhood is just beginning. The switch will not
be turned off the moment the youngest one leaves the home.
In
spite of the lack of credibility, our role as Mom expands as our love for
each other does. We volunteer in hospitals, we head organizations, we
begin caring outreaches, we have tea and cookies/ Bible studies in each
others’ homes, and neighborhood watches.
Being
a Mom should carry a LOT of credibility. If it doesn’t soon, our
society’s fabric will soon begin to unravel. There will be no personal,
Mom’s touch. So, let’s regain some pride in being a Mom! Now that my
kids have taught me how, I’ll be proud to say, “Hi! I’m somebody’s
Mom!”
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