You're no Dymo, so quit labelling me!

Some days I feel like the only mommy blogger on the planet who is not quoting scripture with almost every post. I don't attribute every accomplishment to a higher power. I want the rewards and the accolades when things go right because, you know what? I fought like hell to make those things happen and I'm damn well going to stand up with pride when asked about it. Conversely, I will also own up to my mistakes, eat crow and suffer the consequences. Come to think of it, I also swear. A lot. Maybe I'm just comfortable being me on here or maybe I want to show people that I'm different, and different is good. Goodness knows we need T to understand that because he's never going to be like other kids. Not really. And that's okay!

I'm here to say that I'm not like other moms. And that's okay! (I think that might be my mantra. That or "Where's the chocolate?" It could be a tie.) I'm not Christian or Muslim or Jewish or Buddhist or any other religious label. I'm just a mom trying to make it all work. My laundry is never done (and, really, whose is?!), I don't get enough sleep, we have breakfast for dinner at least twice a month, I swear more than a drunken sailor, there are always toys of every variety laying around and I'm okay with that. Life happens and we all take it for granted but there are reminders everywhere. The crayon drawing on the bi-fold doors to the game room/Jeff's office. The smear of yogurt on the kitchen table that 9 yr old hands missed while cleaning. The chewed up couch pillow (bad dog!). The dozen little yellow Post-Its stuck to my laptop podium reminding me to pick up this doctor's note, call that teacher, make the kids try this snack after school or brush the cats (hairballs suck). Sometimes I need those little reminders because otherwise I would lose sight of why I put myself through all of this.

So, to hell with all of the people who feel that I can't be a good person without the proper religious label. Eff ewe to the people who spend time trying to find fault in how I do things. Sod off, you people with more time than Carter's got little liver pills. The people I answer to smell like Johnson's Baby Shampoo and DermaSmooth and they talk in their sleep and give the best hugs ever and I would do anything to see their faces light up with one of their smiles. The rest of the word simply pales in comparison.

Now, my to-do list is longer than E's hair (almost to her butt!) and I'll count myself successful if I accomplish even a handful of things. Why? Because no one cares about the clean laundry sitting in laundry baskets when there are cupcakes to be frosted. Cupcakes are life's little high-five for everything you did instead of a reminder of what you have left to do. And shouldn't we all be as supportive and rewarding as those glorious cupcakes?