Tailor-Made

The school director stood on the stage, preparing to introduce the 2012 Wizard of Oz cast. Before allowing them to take the stage, she put this reminder out there {this is paraphrased}:

"We are here to celebrate your children's best  in this moment, right here, right now.  Sometimes 'best' means whispering their lines, sometimes it's singing perfectly on pitch. We're here to appreciate whatever 'best' they give us in this moment."

I thought that was so simple, yet profound all at the same time. It was an "of course", yet "ah ha" moment. With this being Dallin's 4th play and Porter's 2nd, we've seen the wide range of what 'best' can entail.  It has come out in a rapid-fire monotone ramble while staring at the ground, and subconscious crotch grabs, and impeccable posing, and on-key singing, and nervous insults alongside nervous randoms, and word for word reciting. We've seen the wide array of what 'best' has to offer. Saturday's performance- with Dallin as the tin man and Porter as the lion- constituted their 'best' to date, in the most conventional use of the word. They've both done so well at becoming just a little bit better than the time before!

Now I liked this introduction so well and really appreciated the expanded use of 'best' that I think I want to have it cued to play throughout the house on an as-needed basis. Most importantly.......when I'm starting to lose it. As my heart rate is rising, threatening to shoot through the roof, and my eyes are becoming bigger my the mili-second, and my voice is finding strength with each pointed word.  I think then would be a perfect time to have that ominous voice in the background as a reminder for my boys...... "We are here to celebrate your children's mom's best  in this moment, right here, right now.  Sometimes 'best' means laughing and talking, sometimes it means screaming like a mad-woman. We're here to appreciate whatever 'best' she gives  us." I really think that could help the tone around here is those HEATED moments. Maybe instead of Dallin looking at me with equally big eyes and matching decibels while chastising, "YOU DON'T HAVE TO YELL, MOM." Maybe he would plaster a smile on his face and say, "Good job, Mom. I know more than anything right now you were debating between BEATING ME raw or running out the front door and never coming back. I am SO glad you found the best in yourself and just went with yelling. I appreciate that. And couldn't be prouder. Now come here and give me a hug, Mama." Imagine this scene. With tears pouring over in an indulgent moment to even the playing grounds, I'd remind him I honored his best with the same respect and pride that play {The Lion King} where he sang his heart out and mastered eye contact....while grabbing his crotch all the while. I couldn't have been  prouder. And together.......we'd share a moment. 

In addition to the house, it wouldn't be a bad idea for that voice to take a permanent position right inside my head and hit "play" when it senses the need. Like when I'm driving my kids to school in my pj's, crossing my fingers that all 5 of us are in the car, and maybe even buckled in, and hopefully 2 of them have a filled lunch box or $1 for "the caf", and I'm looking around at all these well-groomed kids hand-in-hand with their well-groomed mamas---- And that's when I remember, "Crap, isn't it picture day today?" No wonder everyone's looking so good. The boys, who haven't even taken a brush to their hair, nod in unison, "Oh yeah, it is." I look at Dallin and stop for a second before I say, "Hey, isn't that what you wore least year for picture day?" A smile spreads across both of our faces as we appreciate the coincidence. For the record, all 5 of us were in the car and the boys had their lunches. That was my best right then, right there.

And I need that voice when we're on show #5 for the day, sitting on the couch with a huge bowl of cereal, and I'm evenly distributing bites to 4 mouths which will constitute our dinner and leave Papi fending for himself. And I need that voice when I say no to another sports commitment for the boys even though other moms seem to be balancing all the extra-curriculars without a hitch. And I need that voice when I'm sitting in a room of Louis Vuitton and Hermes and Chloe purses as I clutch on to my own generic bag. And I need this voice when the alarm goes off at 6:30 and I finally find myself rolling out of bed at 7:15. I need this voice a lot to remind me that I'm doing just fine. And that my best is always gonna be just enough- even if that means my middle finger finds itself all alone in the air for just a second or two!

So go on ahead and be proud of your best- whatever that means. I can guarantee......your best is a lot more satisfying than trying to achieve what you perceive someone else's best to be. And accepting and embracing and celebrating your best....it's going to make you want to be even better.

{And if a kid yelling, "This is stupid, I already said that, didn't you hear?" on stage can be termed 'best'......the definition has room for whatever you got to throw at it!}