Thoughts on being a mom. And a wife and a cyclist and an educator and a skier and a friend and a reader and and and...

Things were little different this year for Mother's Day as I am now the mom of two kids, not one, which increases life's chaos ten-fold. (true story. Do not let anyone tell you that it's not much more difficult to have two kids instead of one. It is a lie.)

This basically means I am doubly blessed. I tend to be biased but my kids are pretty damn awesome. And I think about/worry about/celebrate them in real life much more than I do on this blog. Mainly because this blog is about me but also because in any given moment I may or may not identify as a mother.

Yes, I am always a mom. That never stops. But when I'm on the bike or in the classroom or riding the chairlift, my kids are often NOT the first thing on my mind. I don't spend every waking moment plotting how to make them happy or anticipating their every need. Truth be told, I spend a lot of moments plotting bike or ski trips and figuring out how to spend more time with Brian.

And you know what? I never feel guilty about that. In fact, I feel really satisfied with how my life works. I spend a lot of time with my kids. I spend a lot of time at work. I spend a lot of time on the bike or on skis. I WISH I spent more time with just Brian (that's what babysitters are for, right?).

Mainly I do all of those things and feel that way because that's just who I am. I wasn't going to have kids and then suddenly lose all of my other identities. It's not how I roll. A secondary benefit though is being an example to my kids. You CAN have everything and not feel bad about it.

To wit, I spent 3 hours riding singletrack with Miriam and Mark yesterday (holy crap, I got WORKED) and 3 hours riding the pavement on skinny tires with Brian today to celebrate Mother's Day. And then I came home and snuggled with my kids and thought, Man I have it good.

Happy Mother's Day.

These guys stole my heart.