Britney's Mom

With Mother's Day being this past Sunday, I have been doing a lot of thinking about what it is to be a mom - the thrills, the heartbreak, the love. And, I keep going back to last year. It was in the fall, and I was at the MOPS Convention in Dallas, Texas. I was having breakfast with the other Field Leaders in my zone, and our Area Coordinator told us that Britney Spears's mom, Lynn, was going to be speaking at our next general session. Well, I have to admit my first thought was - why? But, I learned that she had written a book with a woman who has also written a lot of books for MOPS, so then I could see the link. But, I still wondered - why? Anyways, I get to the session, and had my plastic smile pasted on, and clapped politely as she was introduced. And, then it happened . . . I got an answer to my question. As I listened to her talk about some of the issues that her daughters were going through, I started to identify with her. I didn't see this woman anymore who I had judged for years. I saw a person who had done the best she could do. Someone who seemed to have been overwhelmed with stardom and money and all that came with it. And, I started thinking about all the issues that I had been dealing with as a mother - many of them the same as Lynn. Only I had been lucky enough to not have cameras in my face at every turn. How awful can it be to have people keeping a digital scrapbook of every mistake or misstep your children take?

I learned a lesson that day. I learned that while some people may make different choices than I would, they are doing the best they know how to do. I learned that until you walk in someone's shoes, you really have no idea what they are going through. And, I learned that - no matter what the circumstances - a mother is a mother - good, bad and ugly.

I can honestly say to you today that Lynn Spears taught me a lesson I will never forget. Crazy, I know, but true.