My intention has always been to be an exceptional mother, after all I had 35 years on this planet to devise my strategy and much forethought before beginning the occupation. But, I was not prepared for being dubbed the Best Mom in the World a bit over 3 ½ years into my tenure. The difficult part is retaining the title, at least in one person’s eyes.
From the early moments of being with child, unconditional love permeated every fiber of my being as every mom tells you it will. But at no time was I prepared for the absolute pure love that I was to receive in return. Well before the age of 3 my daughter whole heartily announced daily that she was going to be a Mommy. In an attempt to instill a sense of unlimited potentiality in the future, often I would add that she was going to do and be many things before she is a mommy. Alrighty, now she was gong to be a ballet dancer, a martial artist, and then a mommy. But why the Mommy fixation? I had to know so I asked.
“Because you are the best mommy in the whole world and I want to be just like you.” Bang – my knees got weak, no longer an infant relying on me for mere survival, the connection just got exponentially deeper and more intense. Carefully and often encouraging her independence and original thoughts while meanwhile she was, and is, mirroring me in every way. So often in the daily hustle and bustle it is easy to forget that after all we are and will be role models for our children not just as youngster but in our actions, behaviors, and of course our influence intentionally and unintentionally.
The gravity of the title bestowed gives one pause and reflection the same way any ceremonial crowning subconsciously and consciously elevates a person to meet the expectations of the designation. It is not the feeling of a constant microscope, on the contrary, it is more akin to a mirror back to oneself. In line situationally relating to WWJD as in WWTBMD, What Would “The Best Mom Do?” I am not labeling myself as otherworldly or saintly, but do feel more patient and conscious thinking WWTBMD in lots of situations. This does not mean all sunshine and rainbows but some deep breaths, intentional pauses, and extra hugs. Of course, to be the best it should and does including being firm and disciplining when need be, a true sign of ultimate love.
An update on our travels:
Rick was teaching a seminar in NYC for Krav New York so we decided to stay for a beautiful spring weekend. A whole morning spent in central park and landing for brunch at a lovely Greek restaurant in the Upper West Side – Loi. The staff was very warm and gracious and we were enthralled to find out that the chef/owner donates 10% of all profits to an orphanage in Greece, her motherland. Life can present constant reminders of humility and humanity. In her restaurant and website more of a focus is on these efforts than promoting the fact that she is a celebrity chef and even cooks for Obama a few times a year. If you ever in the city for brunch you must check it!
One gift of having a singleton is that we manage pretty well as a team and can easily and stress-free enjoy cultural adventures that some parents of multiples dare not attempt. Being that we are not outnumbered we can always switch off to experience adult themed amusement without interrupting others experiences. We are Beatles mega-fans so when we heard that the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, at Lincoln Center had an exhibit “Ladies and Gentlemen…The Beatles!” that includes tour memorabilia, historic film clips, video interviews with musicians, as well as interactive exhibits of course we had to make a pit stop.
Sunday came and a four-hour seminar and a child just don’t align. Having once never believed I could enjoy something more than martial arts, I choose some quality time with Ilaria and we headed to the West Village for a wonderful educational introduction to the theater and children’s showing of The Little Mermaid, no it was not created by Disney, this one was based on the original Hans Christian Anderson version and the mermaid (never actually given a name in the folk tale version) does not marry the prince and live happily ever after. She loved it and seeing this experience through her was sheer joy.
Rick taught the Kali edged weapon awareness seminar to a great group of very receptive Krav Maga students some of which had a blank canvas when it came to the Filipino arts. Interestingly, back in the PAMA archives Rick has a receipt from the main a Krav Maga schools in Israel when they bought a whole set of his instructional DVDs several few years back. After the show, since both us gals LOVE martial arts, we immediately after headed to midtown east to check out the second half of the seminar. Great group of people to teach!
Ah dancing, theater, and martial arts all in one day, maybe I am the Best Mom in the Whole World. When asked what her favorite part of the show was my daughter’s reply was “Being with you Mom”. Oh, the pressure of keeping the title!
Living Wherever We Are 