Often I’m like many mothers and think about the ways I come up short against my ideal of a “perfect mother” or even a “good mother.” But last night, I was a good mother. I decided we needed to update our calendar to reflect Reid’s gymnastics, swimming and Kindermusik classes. We have a big wall calendar with stickers to indicate the type of event. I enjoy the sticking and annotating process. It helps me savour the excitement of the classes. Plus, I received a “would do well as an IRS agent” on a career aptitude test when I was in university.

Reid also likes stickers and that provides the dramatic tension for the story. Do I do the stickers myself or ask Reid if she’d like to join me? Well, you already know that I invited her to the table. She rewarded me with big smile. We talked as she put the “sports” stickers on Tuesdays and Thursdays to signify gymnastics and swimming respectively. The “activities” stickers went on Saturdays for Kindermusik. I also had Reid put on a “doctor” sticker but when I tried to write her name beside it, she protested. She took the pencil and carefully drew a person, talking herself through adding his arms, eyes, nose, etc. It might not have been entirely obvious what she was drawing without the commentary but with it, I could see our doctor. Of course, a few minutes later Reid said that she had written his name. After that, each sticker was followed by a carefully written annotation on the same square. I was tempted to erase them, but then I reminded myself that I’m a good mother and that’s more important than tidy calendar squares. Besides she had already put the stickers on crooked ;+) (And no laughing that I can have a messy house with toys and books all over but be troubled by my calendar.)