Collecting Mommy Points

I’ve been collecting Mommy Points for years.


Mommy Points are those points you earn when you follow the Mommy Rules. You know...when you do what Donna Reed would do whether your kids notice or appreciate that you do it.

I first learned about Mommy Points when The Practical One was in the fourth grade. A small group of fellow room mothers was meeting to plan a school day Thanksgiving dinner. One of the mothers offered to bring “the” green beans.  Another mom, the bossy type, poo- pooed the offering on the basis that the kids wouldn’t eat it anyway.  Green Bean Mom replied that maybe they wouldn’t, but we would get Mommy Points regardless. She went on to explain with a grin that kids don’t have to actually EAT the green things. You still earn Mommy Points whenever something green is offered on the plate.

If they eat it, you get extra credit.

Now, that just made me giggle.

Bossy Mom didn’t get it, but I did, and I have been collecting Mommy Points ever since.

I earn Mommy Points every morning when I send the daughter off to school. Because we live so far from school, and because I have this thing about tardiness, there isn’t time for breakfast at home. So every morning for the past 9 years, I have packed a breakfast basket for the meal on wheels. Yes, I know the overkill is unnecessary, but I get Mommy Points for presentation. Usually, it consists of some muffins and a little bowl of fruit. Now, they don’t always eat that fruit, but I still get points for sending it. That's the way the game works.

And it’s always covered with a linen napkin.
I’m pretty sure I get extra credit for that.

Oh yes, there are some manic mornings when all I can muster is one of these breakfast bars of questionable great value...

but by gum, that breakfast bar is in a linen lined basket with a little bowl of fruit.

Because I’m collecting Mommy Points.

Salad with that soup? (point)

Raw carrots with that sandwich? (point) on whole grain? (one more)

I collect points for all sorts of things, not necessarily food related. You can be the judge of whether I add or subtract them because my girls don't wear white shoes before Easter. My sister collects them too. Often, she’ll look at me in one of our collective Super Mom moments and whisper, “I think we get points for this.”

You may be wondering what we actually do with all of these Mommy Points that we’ve collected over the years. Well, periodically, we redeem them, but mostly, we just save them.

So we can spend them on our grandchildren.