Because of My Children

Whenever my son Colby visits from college, he walks over to my father-in-law’s house to have breakfast and watch The Price Is Right with grandpa. A few months ago he said to me, “I want to go to The Price Is Right so that Grandpa can see me on TV if I get called down.”

                As a mother it is my natural instinct to want my children to be happy and successful and get pretty much everything they want. Grandpa is getting quite frail, so I knew if what Colby wanted to happen was going to happen, it needed to happen soon. And so I went online to check out the taping schedule for the game show and when my son’s college had spring break. Then last week, when those two things converged, I made my husband get in the car, pick up our son and his cute wife, and drive thirteen hours to Los Angeles for a taping of the show.

               This experience got me thinking about all the things I’ve done in life because of my children, things I probably wouldn’t have done otherwise. Because of my children I learned to ski at the age of thirty. Because of my children I read most of the Goosebumps books, all of the Harry Potter series, and several William Faulkner novels. Because of my children I backpacked into Iron Bog Lake and have a great story (though not so great when it was happening) about a bear coming into our camp during the night. Because of one son in particular, I am an honorary member of the FFA and know much more about raising and showing pigs than I ever dreamed I would. Because of another son I actually understand how wrestling is scored and was dubbed by one wrestler "the mom of the team.” Because of a daughter I have been sea kayaking.  Because of a son I am a part owner of a boat. Because of another son I attended a professional soccer game. And because of another I have been to Portugal. The more I analyze my life experience, the more things I find that I have done because of my children.
            There are those who say that a mother’s instinct to put the dreams of her children ahead of her own is demeaning to women. I will admit, because of my children some of my own dreams have been delayed or discarded. And there have been times when I have put what my children want ahead of what I want. But when the total sum of my life’s experience is tallied, I believe that because of my children my life has been fuller and richer and more diverse than it would have been if it had been left to my own narrow list of desires.

                The episode of The Price Is Right we attended will air on May 13. Sadly, Colby did not get called down, but you might get a glimpse of us in the audience cheering on those people who did. It was interesting seeing how a TV show is filmed. And while we were waiting in line and going through all the preliminaries (and that literally took hours) we got to know some wonderful people. There was Kyra who was born in Jamaica, whose smile was as big as all the rest of her put together, and who was calling my husband “Pops” by the time we were seated in the auditorium. There was Brian, a soft spoken former marine who now sports tattoos and dreadlocks and was about the nicest man you could imagine meeting. We laughed when Brenda, a not so young woman who had flown for the first time coming from the Midwest to Los Angeles, described encountering turbulence in mid-flight. We sang happy birthday to June who was there from Michigan celebrating her birthday with her entourage of friends.

                Going to The Price Is Right is probably not something I would have chosen to do on my own. I don’t think the possibility of it had even occurred to me until Colby suggested it. But all in all, it was a fun experience, an interesting experience, and an experience I had only because of my children.