I’ve always joked that my aunt is slightly “wheels off.” And I mean that in the most loving way possible.
Tales of her adventures have brightened many a gloomy day, and I’m often laughing at her lack of common sense. And that says a lot coming from this goof.
Erika Pedroza
My family has even endearingly coined the phrase “Cecilia moment” in honor of her notorious way of creating uncomfortable situations by not thinking before speaking or just not thinking at all.
We just write it off as an aftershock of having six kids in 10 years, including two sets of twins. That’s right. Two sets. Twins. With another two kids in between.
So when she informed our family that she was taking in another kid, eyebrows were raised. I think I even gasped a bit and then giggled nervously. The only words I picked up were “another” and “kid,” so I instantly thought ahead to a nine-month journey.
Rest assured, that’s not the case.
After a friend of her older boys found himself in an unfortunate living situation, or really no living situation, my aunt and her husband opened their hearts and already-at-capacity home to another child.
Out of respect for the sweet young man, I won’t go into the details of his story but instead focus on my aunt’s heart of gold.
Despite a child-induced craze, every fiber of her loopiness is intertwined in the lives of her “yard apes,” as she calls them.
From running a shuttle service for half-a-dozen kids with eight different school start and end times (due to various activities) to studying until her brain is fried in an effort to earn a college diploma to provide the best life possible for them, she really is Super Mom.
And she’s the biggest fan of each kid and his or her individual talents – a hardworking honors student and employee, a comedic videographer in the making, a studious clarinetist, an all-sport athlete, a goofy soccer/baseball star and a cheer/softball diva. She rarely misses a function.
If the lack of a lavish lifestyle causes her to doubt her success, all she has to do is look in the rearview mirror before beginning her daily school drop-off routine, and there are six beaming faces reflecting her accomplishment.
And by the curfews and expectations to attend college imposed on the newest member (in addition to inclusion in this summer’s vacation plans and other family functions), it looks like that number will increase to seven.
Happy Mother’s Day to the wackiest mom I know.
You certainly give my sweet lady a run for her money.
Mother’s Day is approaching, and we can’t help but think of the women who will spend May 13 in a prison cell missing their children. Those children are growing up without their mothers because of the “war on drugs.” As moms, law enforcers and speakers for Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, this is an issue close to our hearts. Our current policy of waging war on people who need help is having a disastrous effect on families, especially children.
What if we tried a different approach? What if, when someone needed help, instead of throwing them in a cage and saying to their children, “We give up on you,” we helped that person to get treatment and become a productive member of society? People talk about the messages we would send to our children if we tried legalization. What if the message was, “We care about you”? We want children to look positively upon society, including law enforcement, and have a decent chance at a good life.
If we stop arresting and incarcerating drug users, think of the number of children who would have the chance to look upon their parents as positive role models instead of having parents who are absent because they are incarcerated. We have a moral and ethical obligation to give these children a better chance in life by allowing parents to take care of their families. These parents should have the opportunity to become the productive members of society and role models to their children that they want to be and that their children need and deserve.
LEAP advocates for a more rational, ethical and compassionate drug policy. We know nonviolent drug offenders do not belong behind bars, and we believe in treating drug abuse or addiction as a public health issue, not a legal problem. That’s why we are so proud to announce the Cops and Moms Alliance, a partnership of LEAP, NORML Women’s Alliance, Families for Justice as Healing, Moms United to End the War on Drugs and Students for Sensible Drug Policy. Cops and moms are joining together to call for an end to drug prohibition and voice our support for the women and children suffering because of this unjust policy. Cops and Moms events took place all over the U.S. this week, featuring demonstrations in support of the women who will spend Mother’s Day behind bars.
Please take a moment to sign our petition in support of the moms and children who will spend Mother’s Day kept apart by the “war on drugs.”
Rusty White
Speaker http://www.leap.cc