Becoming Pizza Mom

I have the world's best Mom. There is no room for debate in my book. She raised (or rather, continues to raise) five of us with love, patience, and good humor. Now she's responsible for not only the five of us, but our five spouses (who also rely a lot on her) and several rowdy grandsons. My mom packs a well charged cell phone 24/7 because she's always on call. I think about her countless times each day, sending her good wishes and blessings, but also frequently thinking...

"WWMMD" - What Would My Mom Do?

Of her many talents and traits, one of the ones I respect a great deal is a moniker she took on when my youngest brother was in elementary school. She became "Pizza Mom" - the one who organized and implemented weekly hot pizza lunches at the cafeteria-less Catholic school Michael attended. Pulling off hot lunch for 600 plus hungry school kids on a regular basis should be something CEOs greatly admire on a resume. It should rank right up there with "excellent written and verbal communication skills" and "project management experience" as proof of someone who's really got their act together.

I'm not quite Pizza Mom yet - I have successfully ducked the duty of organizing a hot lunch at my kids' school for over ten years. But I'm in training - I always try to make myself available to help out, even when my schedule would be better served by remaining home and answering the ten zillion emails in my inbox. Taking time to hand out pizza or orange slices means getting to see and hug Adam in the middle of the day, saying hi and thanks to several hardworking Catholic school teachers, and being told "Thank you" over 400 times. Could there be time better spent than that? I don't think so. So today, I'm off to help my school's reigning Pizza Mom with whatever she needs.

Thanks Mom, for teaching me that being Pizza Mom is a goal worthy of my aspirations. You're the best!