Moms: Can We Be an Embarrassment?

I know that this calls for a single time that I embarrassed my child but I have several. However, the one that sticks out in my mind the most involves my 11 year old son. I am a stay at home mom and very involved in school and extra-curricular activities. One day while volunteering, I made the mistake of giving him a kiss on the cheek and calling him "Sugar Booger." It's a term of endearment that I use quite often and in no way use it as a weapon to embarrass him. I actually have a pet name for each of my children and one for my husband.

As you can imagine he was shocked, amazed, and completely mortified (in his words). How could he ever show up on the football field again? How could he ever interact with his peers? If that wasn't enough to make his skin crawl, I fussed over his hair and tried to wipe a part of his face that had a little left over chocolate.

As moms we want so much to nurture, support, and encourage our children. But that day I found out that all of the mothering, although doing it with the best of intentions, can really cramp the style of a middle-schooler.

These days when I'm asked to volunteer I try to keep a low profile, I sit a few rows away, I eat lunch with other kids that are friends of our family, and no matter how bad I want to run up and give him a big squeeze, I force myself to hold in my emotions and wait until the afternoon bell rings.