I'm not that Mom ...

the mom who gives in and says yes because it's easier

the mom who says it's okay to talk back to me or others

the mom who lets her kids go off without checking on them every 10 minutes or so

the mom who doesn't talk to her kids about the hard stuff - the real stuff

the mom who doesn't show up b/c she is not feeling good

the mom who doesn't care about them cleaning their rooms

the mom who says learning how to wash the clothes can wait

the mom who says it's okay I guess if they are doing it go ahead

the mom who allows her children's mistakes to just be

the mom who lets her kids just idle by in life

NO

I'm that mom who says no even when it hurts me to the core

I'm that mom who commands respect in every way, just as much as I give it

I'm that mom who keeps my kids on a short leash to guide them through their youth

I'm that mom who talks about puberty, sex and drugs and I don't skimp on the details 

(there are no birds and bees in my conversation)

I'm that mom who in my darkest days and most painful days still shows up for that game 

that my son might or might not play in

I'm that mom who shows them the importance of taking care of the things 

you are given in life and to appreciate them.

I'm that mom who teaches independence, b/c someday the harsh reality is I won't be here

I'm that mom who follows the rules and yells at the ones not following 

whether you want to hear it or not

I'm that mom who looks at mistakes as a lesson to be learned from

I'm that mom who goes against the grain 

I take the path less traveled b/c it is harder

not b/c I like to torture myself, 

but b/c there are lessons to be learned on a path of obstacles

and none of them are easy to learn.  

All with some degree of difficulty 

that at times you just want to give up, turn around and say, "I'm done."  

and you say it b/c it is easier, 

because if I turn back now maybe I won't look like such a failure

because it will take months to fix

or maybe even years

it might never be fixed

but I'm that mom that sees the path laid out before me and accepts the challenges

b/c even the most difficult paths 

can create:

Strength

Courage

Loyalty

Honesty

Hope

Faith

  and give you even just a sliver of silver lining

So yes, when you ask, "O you are one of those moms."

I will answer, "Yes, I'm one of those moms."