It was at those moments I allowed my true artist nature to be displayed for my children.

WHERE THE WILD THINGS GROW

Embracing Motherhood As a Blessing

    "Mommy, Mommy. . . l-o-o-k . . . look at me!" It's not as if didn't already know what Anamaría was doing. After all, it had been my idea to bring out the shaving cream. It was a cold and rainy spring day, and I was challenged to find ways for us to survive the weather and each other. So I dug into my magic hat for what I still call mom's "wild and crazy ideas."
     But even though I'm the one who had suggested that the kids take over the dining table and make "creations" by transforming shaving cream into foam sculptures, my 4-year-old daughter still made me giggle out loud.
     She was standing on the wooden chair, jean skirt and T-shirt splattered with shaving cream, which now swirled and hid the wooden table in front of her. Anamarfa was moving her hands through the white foam with such delight that it made me want to join her. Within seconds, 2-year-old Rebekah succeeded in copying her sister by patting her face and blanketing her entire body with shaving cream.
     Christopher, however, clearly the mature 6-year-old in the crowd, remained moderate and tempered in his response, at least in relation to his audacious sister Anamaría. He was content to enjoy the shaving cream sitting down, while taking seriously the challenge to sculpt the bulges of white into temporary figures.
     When I think back and remember some of the wild-and-crazy-magic-hat moments of my parenting, I realize now that they are not only some of my favorite memories, but also moments when I felt that I was truly embracing my motherhood as a blessing and a grace - not because I was living out some alter-ego personality from my rules-oriented self by telling the kids, "Just don't tell your mom," but rather because it was at those moments I allowed my true artist nature to be displayed for my children.
     It is difficult, and sometimes impossible, to feel reflective about parenting when the children are small and demanding of continuous attention. Physically, emotionally and, often, spiritually exhausted, I want to do the right thing at any given moment, but like Paul in his Letter to the Romans, I "do not do the good I want, but I do the evil I do not want" (7:19).
     Perhaps that's why my crazy-mom ideas have always been important to me, especially when I became a mom of four children ages 6 and under. Not only did I take seriously my mothering by thinking about fun, spiritual and educational ideas to do with the kids, but even then, in my limited ability to be reflective, I recognized that it was critical that I remain "real," that I allow my true nature to show, to breathe and to grow.

    So, in addition to the things that I did for my own physical and spiritual well-being away from the children, I learned that the "manner" in which I engaged with my children, the enthusiasm that I gave to my day-to-day motherhood, was critical. From the Greek enthousiasmos, the very word enthusiasm means to be inspired by God. I wanted and needed to allow my creative soul to express itself in how I lived out my motherhood. And my wild-and-crazy-mom ideas where intricate to this unfolding. With every creative action I opened myself a little more to a God encounter in the present moment. In the words of author Julia Cameron, "Creativity is God energy flowing through us, shaped by us, like light flowing through a crystal prism."
     Perhaps it's because of her fearless, adventurous spirit that Anamaría has always had a knack for reminding me when it is time to let loose. As a little person, she would stand in front me, hands deliberately placed on her waist, wearing a sly and daring smile: "I think today is one of those wild and crazy days, Mommy. Can you feel it?" And on my best moments I would smile back at her and let the wild and crazy side of my brain take over. Perhaps today we'll "paint" the brick fireplace with wet sponges, or we will have a completely "backwards" day, or plan a birthday party for Pooh Bear, or we can all change into our favorite pajamas and...