Define "Good Mom"

I think I'm a good mom. Not Supermom, mind you, but a relatively good mom. I cook, I clean, I do laundry (if not windows) and I usually remember to meet the school bus at the corner... usually...

I was at a meeting tonight and I got to thinking about being the mom of active triplet boys, a busy tween, and an angst-wrought teen. I could probably be a better mom if I was in a position to specialize, you know, super-cool teenager's mom, way-fun-and-crafty tweener's mom, or build-a-snowman-in-the-yard triplets' mom... But the truth is, I'm your basic, all-purpose, everyday (just a little bit crazy) mom. Is that good enough?

I once purported to be an "awesome" mom. I did something outlandishly cool (it could happen!) and then encouraged my son to answer his phone for a week by saying,

Hello, this is Mike, my mom is awesome!

OK--so maybe that's not the best way to become Awesome Mom... oh well...

My daughter loves to have sleep-overs. I, however, abhor them to an impressively extreme degree. If you knew how I really felt about them, you'd be amazed at amount of emotion that I can put into something as simple as a bunch of slipper-wearing, pillow-toting girls. If I were Way-Fun-and-Crafty Mom, I'm sure I wouldn't feel the stress and weighty responsibility of these events.

As for my short-comings in regard to the triplets, where do I start? I often get invited to join playgroups and mommy-and-me groups, but I am always reluctant to attend. First of all, have you met The Buddies? You must realize there are three of them, right? Why would anyone want to expose themselves to our particular brand of chaos? And really, keeping track of three at the park, the zoo, the swimming pool--it's not exactly a picnic, folks! I don't want to join a playgroup, I live in a playgroup!

So there it is. Maybe I'm fooling myself with this good mom business, maybe I'm really Slacker Mom. Pin a giant "S" on my chest and I'll get myself a cape.