E used to say the funniest things. I started to keep a journal as he got older, to keep a record of the sayings he would come up with.  They were known as Eisms. We also have so many funny stories of us growing together. In honor of Mother's Day, I am sharing my favorite one.  I hope you will share yours with us, too.

E and I are so similar in mannerisms, one would instantly know we are related when we are together. He is quick to laugh at me when I act girly but he will protect me, even if it is from myself. Anyone who knows me knows I am terrified of anything with a lot of legs... bugs specifically.  We came home one night, and I was at the sink washing dishes. I looked up to see a huge praying mantis on the window and started screaming. Mind you, it was outside, but that creepy thing was just watching me. All I could think about was getting into the house. Of course, the window is near my coffee maker, and I'm positive it's coming into the house.

I start screaming for E, and I mean screaming. I tell E to bang on the window to make it jump away because if it gets in the house, I'm going to have a heart attack.  I'm over the top, freaking out, yes, I will admit that now, crying and everything. E is laughing so hard that he calls my sister to try to calm me down. She's too busy laughing, too, but she doesn't see how big this thing is. I make E go outside with a dust mop to gently sweep it away, and it jumps down at him. I'm positive it's on him, and I won't let him back in the house until he shakes off his shirt.  It was this moment that confirmed for me that I was destined to be a boy mom, because if I had girls, they would be screaming too, and I would have moved to a hotel that night. 

I did not have it all together that night. E may have recognized and laughed at my irrational fears, but E protected me... that's my story, and I'm sticking to it. It just goes to show we may not always have it all together, but when you show your true self to a child, they recognize their own strengths and can accomplish anything. 

Happy Mother's Day to everyone out there who is doing their best to conceive, bear, raise, and educate children. You are exceptional even when you may not feel that way. Even when you yell because you are overwhelmed... You are human, and we all reach our limits. I know it makes you feel poorly in the moment, but it is important to show a range of emotions so that your child never struggles with insecurities over those feelings in their lives.