Julia Hatch has a great mommy tale that she and I bounce off each other whenever there's an opportunity to use the climatic story line.Basically you need to know that Julia's oldest daughter, Emily, was born with a nurturing spirit. Emily was that child who is mature beyond her years. When Emily was in high school she would clean Julia’s house or fix dinner. Just because. Who does things like that as a teenager?
Anyway, when Emily was just two, the Hatch family expanded. Emily's little brother, Andy, was born. Julia, was doing her best to meet all the new demands on her time.
So, one day when Andy was crying Julia was hustling about in hopes of getting one more thing done before she stopped to feed Andy. Suddenly Julia felt a tug on her pants and looked down to see Emily looking very sternly at her. In her loudest voice Emily scolded: "What kind of Mother ARE you? Your baby needs you!" Emily's reprimand stopped Julia dead in her tracks.
Julia immediately thought: What kind of mother am I that my 2 year-old needs to set my priorities straight?
Of course when Julia shared the story with me years after the fact we both laughed at motherly Emily looking out for Andy. And we've both recited Emily’s famous line if we were neglecting any of Hatch/Knudsen kids. For example, if Julia showed up late to one of her kids performances or sports games, I’d just say: “Hey, what kind of mother are you?”
It’s a funny story but also a good reminder to sometimes stop and rethink our priorities too. It can also be edited to things like: "What kind of a friend/daughter/son/spouse/etc. are you?"
