when do you feel...

... most like a Mommy? What is it that triggers the "Mom" feeling for you? See, when I'm home all day, just in my house or out on the block, I don't really feel like a "Mom". Odd, don't you think? I mean, I'm home all day with The Kiddos. I'm out on the block watching The Kiddos. I'm in the back yard pushing The Kiddos on the swingset. Why doesn't that make me feel like a mom? Mostly, I just feel like "Erika, who is in charge of making sure these small children eat and make it through the day alive". I hear the words "Mommy, mommy, MOMMY" all day long, and somehow it doesn't sink in that it's ME they're referring to here. I answer, of course... but.... am I making any sense?

I do feel like a "Mom" when they're sick. I felt a bit "Mom-ish" today at the pharmacy, filling a prescription for The Boy, but I didn't feel very "Mom-ish" while at the doctor with The Boy. I felt like "The woman who needs to listen carefully", but that's all wrapped up in the part about making sure The Kiddos make it through the day alive.

I always feel like a "Mom" when I am aware that high school kids are around. Why is that? It's like I'm keenly aware that I am not in high school anymore, and even though I don't feel very old, I bet those kids think I am ancient. I vaguely remember how "old" I thought all adults were when I was in high school... and here I am.

Mostly, I think I feel like a "Mom" at bedtime, or any other such time when The Kiddos are feeling snuggly. Marita posted about her daughter noticing her smell. "You smell like mommy". I wonder if I have a smell. My mom had a smell. When The Kiddos cuddle up for stories before bed, when they are fighting for space on my lap... that's when I feel most like a "Mom", but in a good way. Not in a frazzled, needs a shower, has too many errands, can't keep the house clean kind of way (which is me all day), but in a comforting "you smell like Mommy" kind of way.

So, when do you feel most like a "Mom"?