"MOM" it's official and enduring

Okay so I just have to share... I have a million things to say but I've been sitting hear looking at the pictures on my blog and I have nothing. No words. Amazing how that works :)

But I do have to share - okay - so I've officially been a mom for just two months and becoming an "official mom" was amazing, but having the words coming from your daughter and her finally understanding what it means - priceless.

Though she started sporadically calling me mom in Ethiopia it wasn't consistent. It was probably confusing more than anything. We stayed in a small one house compound with a family - a mother and her 5 children. All the children of course called their mom, "mom" and Beamlak also began calling her mom because she didn't know her name.

After coming home to Minnesota she began calling me Bettina again. Sure it didn't feel the greatest when she would call my name, instead of "mom," though it was still sweet. However, I never pushed the issue as I didn't want her calling me mom just because I was telling her that she should. I couldn't imagine everything is she has been going through the past few weeks and I certainly wasn't going to increase her anxiety for my comfort.

Several days ago we taped a bunch of photos up in her room that she took with her friends at Kechene and before we went to bed we said, "I love you" to each and everyone one of them and to all the people we love in Ethiopia which led us to a discussion about her Ethiopian mom. I started talking about her Ethiopian mom and how we both have two moms and that its okay to have two moms and love two moms. She acknowledged that she understood (I was speaking in my horrible Amharic of course). I tucked her in, said I love you very very much to her and her teddy bear and that was our night.

The following morning we were looking at the photos again as we had just called the family we stayed with in Ethiopia. I started again by saying how much we love them all (the family and her friends) and also her Ethiopian mom. She looked at me and said, "Yes" in reply to my statement that we both have two moms.

Friday morning we had just gotten in the car to go to school and as always I turned on some Gossaye music and as Beamlak was arranging herself in her carseat I put the car into drive so I could get out of the parellel parking spot I was in and then it came, "MOM!" with a big smile on her face as I looked into the rearview mirror, I turned around, she was looking at me and shaking her head and said, "You silly," with the seatbelt still in her hand.

I have to say, that certainly is my favorite word, but a close second is the phrase, "My crazy."