Party Pooper and The Silver Lining

Okay, my 7 year old son Ross was supposed to attend a classmate’s birthday party this weekend.  The party was from 12pm to 1:30pm.  At 12:45pm, as I am tidying up the basement (how desperate!) and Ross is at soccer, after already having had a play date, it dawns on me that he is missing the party. Initial panic sets in and then just a general feeling of being a loser. We had RSVPd, it was on the calendar, we had a gift, yet I still forgot.  I called the birthday boy’s mom right away.  I was tempted to say Ross had come down with Malaria or something, but, then boldly fessed up that I just plain forgot…Sigh.

When I got off the phone my 9 year old daughter, Samantha, said she was proud of me for telling the truth and that we could all learn from that (the silver lining!).  I then dropped off the birthday present and picked up Ross from soccer.  I knew I had to tell him what had happened because he would definitely hear about it from his pals at school.  So, nervously, I relayed my story to Ross.  At that moment I knew I was doing something right; Ross was extremely understanding and while reassuring me he said, “you do sooo much mama, it’s okay"!

So there you have it. A mom with perhaps a little too much on her plate sometimes, but also a mom who has given herself permission to laugh about it as I retell the story and to appreciate the insight this experience provided into the character of my kids!

This story was contributed by Karen, an urbanmoms.ca member and mother to Ross and Samantha. urbanmoms.ca is a collective effort and we love to hear from you!  Please send your story or article to email@urbanmoms.ca.