I had signed up my oldest daughter to girl guides. Inevitably, a bake sale loomed on the horizon. The moms were ordered to make between 4-6 cookies on a plate that would sell for $1. We were told to make at least a dozen plates. Why we did not have a least an option of donating $12 or even $20, I will never know. We ALL had to do it. (The economics of fundraising at some of these kids’ activities can be a subject for a future article; I better stop at this point before I start ranting).

When there is something I must do that I am not good at and/or do not enjoy, I conveniently put it out of my mind until the day before. It’s a mommy survival defense mechanism; but I digress.

The night before the bake sale, I pondered my options and I dutifully made 5 haystack cookies per plate thinking I was offering a decent value for the sale price.

I was feeling pretty good until I arrived at the bake sale. Someone’s mother had managed to make 30 packages of a half dozen handmade biscotti individually and beautifully wrapped. The packages were also priced at one dollar each. Needless to say, sales at that table were brisk. The organizers had to put a limit on how much a person could buy.

Next to the biscotti table, a mother had made 2 Rice Krispy squares per plate. They looked crumbly and were going to fall apart any minute. I immediately felt sorry for the Rice Krispy mom. I bought a few plates. Sales at this table were not so brisk.

In that moment, the difference between the Biscotti Mom versus the Rice Krispy Mom struck me as a beautiful metaphor for motherhood. There is nothing wrong with being either one or anywhere in between. You can be one type of mom for situations you are uncomfortable with (me in a makeup session with other dance moms) and totally rock it when you are in situations that play to your strengths (me teaching math in to my child in Grade 8).

I like to write short essays about family life because I am the Rice Krispy Mom more often than not, but I’m at peace with that and I don’t beat myself up over it. In fact, I see a lot of humor in the situations where things are not quite going as well as I’d like. My weekly blogs on Steemit are meant to be shared especially with all those imperfect moms out there who are doing their best and could use a little humour, a bit of ranting, with a touch of philosophical pontificating on the realities of parenting.

I occasionally have essays not specific to family life. Sometimes they seem more like rants but they are meant to be humorous. I am, by and large, a very positive person.

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