THESE MOMS ROCK!

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As I stood at the baseball field tonight with a lovely group of single moms...I marveled at their joy amid their pain-- and their strength amid their brokenness. They laughed and joked...and yes-they poked fun at their former other halves...while talking about blind dates and amazing dates with limo riding yachtsmen.

In all the wonder and exuberance...and the novelty of starting over...I couldn't help but admire their resilience and their fortitude...their dedication to their children...and their strong willed determination to drag themselves out of bed every single day- even when they feel like dead weight...and bustle through the house rousing the kids, feeding them breakfast fooling with their school clothes and hauling them off to carpools and doctor's appointments, counseling and lessons, grocery stores and baseball games...and back home again to start all over again-often -in between full-time jobs.

These New Orleans ladies, like so many ladies around the world, are the stuff that great heroes are made of...Mom's who make a monumental difference because let's face it...They are mothers and fathers all wrapped up into one...and willing to carry the load-when the other half is foot loose and fancy free.

As they clapped and laughed and played cheerleader to their real stars...their baseball batting sons...I couldn't help but think about the guys who gave them the kids and the hope and the heartache...and I wondered how the men could stand missing the moments like these-with the moms who were the women they once cherished...who gave them the children who are the lifeblood of their lineage...I wondered how they could resist being there in the mornings or at night for the homework and the baths, the skinned knees and the tears and the touching good-nights when the lights go out...and the kids are safely tucked away into dreamland...and our work is well done...and the weary women simply want a kiss for Love-because that's all it takes to make it all feel worthwhile.

But then I thought-that's the thing about women...we want the romance and the dream and we often let the dream define us...When in reality, we are the dream realized and what better reality than a strong Loving woman and mom who is willing to go the extra mile, even when we've been left behind, because that's what good people do-for the one's they Love-like their kids who bring us so much more joy than any fantasy or fickle romance could ever produce.

I smiled as I thought- these gals are truly amazing...And as my kids would proudly say..."THESE MOMS REALLY ROCK!"

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