It takes a Mom to Know

Last weekend, I had a chance encounter with an old neighbor of mine, Jennifer B. I hadn't seen her since she was a teenager and I was around seven. TheMan, PeaPod and I had had a very productive day and were ready for some fun. We went to the local town park and brought along some dinner for a picnic.
Note: PeaPod absolutely loves parks. There isn't a day that goes by without her asking to go to one. If we pass by even the smallest of parks in the car, she knows it and voices her wishes that we would go to the park instead of our chosen destination.
PeaPod was ecstatic. She ran onto the playground as soon as we arrived. As usual, she found some other children, and asked them to "Come p'ay". These cute older girls were happy to play with her. Their mother came and sat down on a bench next to TheMan and I. I had not taken a good look at this mother since I was talking to TheMan, busy setting up the picnic and watching the Pea, but we started up a bit of conversation about our daughters.
Once the other mom started talking, I knew her. And then I quickly turned and truly looked at her. Over twenty years may have passed, but I knew it was her. I exclaimed, "Jennifer B.?" and introduced myself, since there was no way she would recognize me from the girl I was at the age of seven. She was as amazed as I was. So there we were! She had six kids ranging from the teens to age three. All were cute-as-a-button blondes just like her and very polite. I came to find out she was homeschooling her children. I find this absolutely an amazing endeavor especially considering how social her children were. As a child, I was impressed by her doing daring tricks on the trampoline; now I am even more impressed by her skills as a mother. We discussed family, what everyone was doing, and how life changes. It was a lovely chat.
She shared a story that I thought was so true and could have happened to any of us. She said that once my mom called her to babysit for just a few minutes. My mom desperately needed to go to the grocery store for something but didn't want to take all four of the small girls along. Jennifer said that my mom was truly in need of someone, but she was a typical teenager (like we all can be!) and didn't want to go. She had the usual excuses of being tired after a day at school etc. So she didn't go. Years later, Jennifer stated, she was in the same position with four small children and needing to go to the store but not wanting to drag them all there. And that is when she remembered the day my mom called and thought, "Oh I am so sorry S.!". I'm sure my mom never thought twice about that conversation years ago and either found someone else to tend or took us along. But Jennifer remembered and I love this lesson for me. It takes a Mom to know doesn't it? It generally it takes being a Mom to know what being a Mom really entails. All the beauty, the love, the work, the sacrifice, the fun, etc. It takes a Mom to know.