Midlife’s A Trip

Testimony to a Meno Mom

Posted on 22. Jan, 2008 by Karen in Misc

This posting is dedicated to my sister Paula–the ultimate Meno Mom.  Now you ask–what the heck is that?  Well a meno mom is a Baby Boomer raising young children while going through menopause.  Not my life choice–at midlife I have a grown son.  And my hot flashes are almost over.

But Meno Mom always wanted to be a mother.  It was at the top of her life list.  But life never presented her with the perfect dad for her child.  So at 49 years old Meno Mom put herself in the “beauty contest” of domestic adoption.  Beauty contest? 

Well if you haven’t been there you couldn’t know that the birth mother picks the adoptive mother in U.S. adoptions.  In international adoptions, the prospective mother selects the child.  So one day, in an amazing display of the law of attraction (a story for another posting), Meno Mom got the call that her 3 week old daughter was waiting in San Antonio. 

And if you think this Meno Auntie was going to be left behind on such a momentous occasion–think again.  I will never forget the day that I watched my baby sister, now Meno Mom, hold her daughter for the first time.  I still get teary.

Now fast forward to today.  Meno Mom faced the ultimate test of motherhood–the vomiting child.  My niece Maddie, now almost 4, had a cold.  Ever diligent, Meno Mom took her to the doctor and on the way back, Maddie threw up, not once, but 3 times in the car.  She and her car seat were a disaster.  So Meno Mom took a detour–to my house!

I have to hand it to her–Meno Mom was cool.  She called ahead and had me waiting at the front door with a roll of paper towel and a garbage bag.  I ran Maddie a bath while Meno Mom mopped her up enough to extract her from the vomit covered car seat.  Me–I was ready to pull out the rubber gloves.

As I popped Maddie in the bath, my son—her 32 year old cousin called.  I had him on the speakerphone as I told him what happened.  He asked Maddie if she “hurled” and she smiled and answered that indeed she had. 

In the meantime, Meno Mom cleaned the car and then went back to taking care of her beloved child.  As I watched them together and saw the love and tenderness between them, it struck me how beautiful the bond of mother and child is at any age.  

You go Meno Mom. 

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