My good friend recently had a “Best Mom Moment.” She was trying to get her 17-year-old son to New York to meet up with a group of fellow soccer players. They were then headed to Spain for a camp. It did not go smoothly.
Upon arrival at the airport, she was informed that due to the weather, he could not fly as an unaccompanied minor. He would have to have a parent accompany him to New York. She was not prepared for this, to say the least. Nevertheless, she put on her bad-ass mom panties, negotiated a seat by her son for a reasonable price, and set off to New York City with nothing but her purse.
She also used it as a teachable moment about how, when you are nice to people, they will try to help you. Hats off to Delta here. They went above and beyond to accommodate my friend. All this is a “Best Mom Moment.” She came through for her son despite the obstacles. There is more to the story, including her having to go to a strange parking lot to catch an Uber to get to another airport just so she could get home, but you get the idea. She loves her son.
I was telling this story to my daughter, who was home for the weekend. This prompted my husband to ask me what I thought was my “Best Mom Moment.” I thought for a bit and decided it happened when Josie was three and stuck a small button up her nose. To avoid a trip to the ER, I tried to suck it out. Yes, with my mouth. I know, gross, but moms do this kind of shit all the time. Spoiler: I didn’t get the button out and we ended up at the ER anyway. She was a pill, but fine.
I then asked Josie what she thought was my “Best Mom Moment.” Girlfriend did not miss a beat. She immediately said, “The time you cleaned the bird poop off my face and hair in Chicago with a maxi pad.” Yes, friends. That did happen.
We were walking down Michigan Avenue and splat! Josie made a shrieking noise and I looked over to see a massive amount of white bird shit all in her jet-black hair and on the side of her face.
I immediately started rummaging through my purse for napkins, tissues, something! All I found with any amount of absorbency was a maxi pad. I held it up and gave her an “I’m sorry look.” She looked me straight in the eye and said, “Go for it.”
As I unfurled the wings of the maxi pad and began to clean my 13-year-old daughter, I noticed my husband had distanced himself from this show and was walking several paces ahead of us. Wuss.
I got most of it out, but we did head straight back to the hotel for a shower. It was really gross, y’all.
Now, I would also like to think that I have instilled such things into my daughter as love, kindness, compassion and empathy, and those are some of my better moments. However, resourcefulness is important too. Attempting to suck a button out of a child’s nose and cleaning bird shit with a maxi pad are both resourceful AF.
“Best Mom Moments” come in all shapes and sizes. It’s about jumping in when you are needed and doing what has to be done. My friend and I both did that. Now, where are our trophies?
Angela Traver
What is this blog about? Well, it's a general blog, but it is also a very specific blog. If you get that reference, you get a gold star! I have been a public relations professional and writer of press releases for more than 20 years—primarily in the booze biz. I decided to do some writing for fun and embrace the humor that gets me through most days. Hopefully it will make you chuckle—or at least smile. I’m a certified crazy magnet, and more than a little nutty myself, so buckle up. Also, I have two vices—profanity and red wine/whiskey. You’ve been warned. It should also be noted, that I’m a HUGE Bob & Sheri fan. I’ve been a listener for more than 20 years. This opportunity is a dream come true and it may have made me cry. That being said, I cry at everything. If you are into booze, dogs, food and/or knitting, hit me up on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter (although I’m terrible at Twitter and it scares me) @kyspiritsgal. You can also find all my previous blog posts at www.kyspiritsgal.com.
