Laid back

The other day, I was driving behind my youngest daughter's school bus when it stopped to pick up one of her BFFs. And there was her mom waiting with a big plastic cage. I wait till the bus drives off and ask the mom what's up. And there in the cage is an adorable little hamster. Her daughter wanted to show the hamster to my daughter. How cute is that? But, it got me to thinking as I said goodbye and drove to work how much I love that mom - let's call her Muriel. A lot of moms wouldn't schlep the hamster out to the curb just to introduce it to their daughter's friends. A lot of moms wouldn't even get the hamster because it's too messy or might be stinky or whatever. Muriel is so not that kind of mom. Now, I'm not saying that she gives her kids everything they want. They are not spoiled. In fact, they are extremely sweet, well-mannered, considerate and caring little girls. (And you're not born that way - it comes from your parents.) But, Muriel is the kind of mom who jumps on board with a good idea. She's the mom that dives on the back of the sled with her kids to go down the big hill. The kind that lets you play with glitter and glue and play-doh. (Did you know that there is a large population of moms who don't let their children use play-doh in the house? Yes, it's true!) I guess she's easy going, laid back, whatever you want to call it. Yes, she's a cool mom, but it's more than that. She's not one of those ladies who thinks it's more important to be her child's friend than her mom. She just knows how to make her kids happy. And she does it in that natural way that doesn't mean buying them a million toys - she can just do it. There is nothing wrong with being the Martha Stewart kind of mom. There is nothing wrong with being organized and sticking to schedules. But, I don't think that a Martha mom would ever have a hamster. Now, I'm no Martha mom, but I'm also not a Muriel mom. I want to be more like Muriel. I don't know if you can force yourself to be easy-going. I guess that kind of negates the idea of being easy-going, doesn't it. But, I will tell you this.... from now on, when my kids ask me to do something I might not necessarily enjoy, I'm going to ask myself, "What would Muriel do?"