Cookies and Cuddles

This drawing is how Emma thought I looked last Spring when my hair was still very short.  (According to Emma, I seem to have some facial hair.  Perhaps just some artistic rendering on Emma's part.)

This drawing and Emma's essay titled "Mom" are part of a collection of essays and drawings made by Emma's first grade classmates last spring.  All of the drawing and pictures about their mothers were bound in a book called The Important Thing About my Mom. The children gave the book to their mothers as a Mother's Day present.

It is funny and interesting to read what each child wrote as the most important thing about mom.  This collection of essays could almost be a little study into the perceptions 6 year old children toward their mothers.  Here are some informal observations on my part.

1.  Almost all of the children wrote that the making of food, especially desserts and breads, was the most important thing about mom. If mom didn't fix these treats, then mom took the child to a bakery or restaurant to get these yummy foods.  The list of wonderful things that the children say we make or buy for our kids is mouth watering: strawberry bread, banana bread, fudge cookies, banana splits, fancy desserts, smoothies, Krispy Cream donuts, sugar cookies, chocolate shakes at McDonald's, cookies at Russell's Bakery.

Emma wrote that she makes cookies with me.  The reality is that we rarely make cookies.  While I do think food (especially sweet, warm things) and mom are often linked, I suspect that the teacher might have used cooking/baking as an example and all the children used food as one of the important things about mom.   Alternatively, perhaps some children talked about what they were writing in their essays and others copied (as 6 years tend to do). This might explain why 5 of of the 20 children said the most important thing was that mom "made breakfast for dinner."  

2. The other important area about mothers was the love. Many children wrote "she takes care of me" or "she loves me." Emma and many others wrote, "she cuddles with me."  Only Emma wrote that her mom  carries her around and says "flying monkey."   Actually I say flying monkey with an odd exaggerated accent "flying mooonkey."  When Emma was a little baby and even a toddler, I would hold her out with my extended arms so she looked like she was flying in the air. Emma would hold her arms out like an airplane and  squeal in delight as I swished her around the house. My arms are not strong enough to hold her like that now.  But I do still love to cuddle. We always have "cuddle time," usually when she comes home from school.

3.  Some children mentioned their mom's profession (teacher, architect, writer, lawyer, etc.). Two children said the most important thing about mom was that she was a marathon runner (an accomplishment indeed).

Beyond Emma's essay, my favorite essay was the one written by a child who said the most important thing about mom was that "she had style." The child explained, "She has nice shiny make-up. She has curly hair." 

Here is Emma's essay titled "Mom."