Good Moms Lend Jackets

"Where did you get that jacket?"

I signaled to merge into highway traffic; zipping down the on-ramp, heading for home. My kids and I had spent the last twenty-four hours visiting with my parents who live a couple of hours away from me. I glanced at my oldest as I moved to the middle lane.

"It's actually Grandma's jacket. She let me borrow it."

"Why?," Lilly asked.

It had been unusually cold for October. Rather than closely following anything the meteorologist on TV had been saying, I naturally "tuned out" at the mention of "arctic chill" and "record lows" as a means of self-preservation. All I knew was that it was cold...and that I had forgotten to bring a jacket to Mom and Dad's with me.

"She was worried about me traveling home without one. She didn't want me to get cold."

Lilly was quiet a moment before she said, "Because that's what good moms do. They take care of you."

To all the good moms out there--to the ones running to the school when lunchboxes are left sitting on kitchen counters, to the ones cuddling the brokenhearted teenagers when junior high is nothing short of sucky, to the ones working as hard in their careers as they are in their homes, to the ones lending their jackets when their adult children forget--I see you. And you are pretty special. You are spectacular.

*Important Note to Self: Purchase a warmer jacket like this one! ASAP!*