Photo courtesy of Pam Wilson.
Everything a mom needs in one bag.
I have anything anyone would need in my backpack. Not just the obvious necessities like Kleenex and gum. I also have floss, contact solution, an extra contact case, Imodium, mints, an extra hair tie and headband, pens, paper clips.
Whether we’re at the ball game, a restaurant, or out to dinner, if you need something chances are you’ll find it in my backpack. It’s like Hermione’s bag in the Harry Potter books: small but mighty.
My backpack reminds me of that great “Mad About You” episode when Jamie and her sister Lisa accidentally switch bags. Jamie, the organized sister, ends up being a complete wreck without her bag of Kleenex, extra pair of tights and mints. Lisa, who is typically unorganized at best, is astonished by everything she finds in her bag and ends up looking like Jamie. The bags work like magic!
The other area that I absolutely shine at is removing stains from clothes. Many years ago, my mother-in-law told me that a combination of warm water and detergent was the best solution for getting stains out of clothes. On my own, I discovered that a squirt of Oxi-Clean max force gel stick, plus a good soak for a day or so, can remove just about anything you throw my way.
Red snow cone juice on white shorts? Not a problem.
Barbeque sauce on linen shorts? Gone.
My third area of expertise is locating missing items around our house, in particular lost items in the freezer, pantry or someone else’s room. The funny thing is I’m not so skilled at locating important papers. I tend to file them and forget where I put them. My husband, on the other hand, is much better at this. But I can tell you within an inch where something is located in the pantry or freezer. Nobody at home finds this as impressive as I do, until of course they’re hungry and can’t find the cereal or the frozen pizza.
I love these magical mom powers. With the help of my backpack, gel-stick, and uncanny ability to locate items, I’m irreplaceable. Now, if only these powers extended to doing the laundry and emptying the dishwasher.
