I got up at an ungodly hour this morning to take my 14yo dd to meet a group to go skiing and snowboarding. I drove an hour and a half to do this and then got gas and turned around and drove back home. It strikes me that this is just another sacrifice that I as a mother am willing to do for my darling children.

I also handed her the very last dollar bills in my purse--a regular happening in our house--with her promise that she will pay me back. Yesterday, I used the last of my special 1% low fat milk to make lunch for my perfectly capable teenage daughters.  But, I did it for them, you know. So. I can go to the store and get more, right?

I also gave up the privilege of showering first last night so my dd could get to bed early, so she could get up at an ungodly hour so I could take her to meet the skiing/snowboarding group.

I have sat in boring 4H meetings, had my purse raided for postage stamps for my dd's letters to her friends, bought unnecessary items to support my kids' fund raisers, been locked out of my house from loaning my keys to dd to go somewhere in MY car using MY gas, listened to my kids' CDs for the hundreth time in the car instead of my favorites, loaned my suitcases and blow dryer and curling iron and various other items to my kids, ate the crust of the bread so they could have the regular slices, skipped the ice cream so there would be enough for everyone else, etc. etc.

Yes, sacrifice is good for the soul. However, for a mom, it's mandatory.