May, the month dedicated to Moms everywhere. A true celebration of motherhood. Each year growing up we celebrate mother’s day, a day created for showering our moms with gifts and love and home-baked cookies, little coupon books for foot rubs and free hugs, and pancakes for breakfast.
Fast forward, now that we are mothers too, we sit and reflect on those years when we were young, wondering if our children will have as much enthusiasm in spoiling us one day when they are old enough to do so. For now, those with young children probably end up doing more than having a “day off” and we can’t help but wonder how on earth our moms got it so right, made parenting seem so simple and easy. How were they ever so perfect? How will we as mothers ever compare to our own?
For mother’s day 2019, Saturday Night Live aired a sketch that I think all of us can have a giggle at – SNL skit ‘The Perfect Mother’!
SNL skit ‘The Perfect Mother’ – We Can All Relate
In the humorous but accurate sketch, Heidi Gardner plays the role of a mom to a very busy toddler. The role of her mom is played by Emma Thompson. Heidi has a deep chat with her mom and explains to her how she is struggling to cope with motherhood[1], and how in awe she is at her mom’s ability to have always remained so poised, so calm and so extremely patient with her while she was growing up. This is where Emma’s character starts to have flashbacks of what really went down when her daughter was the same age.
Heidi’s character reflects back onto a time when she covered the television in paint and how her mom managed to stay calm and collected, but the flashback Emma has paints a very different story as she remembers how she was actually losing her mind. Heidi then asks her mom, Emma, if she ever felt overwhelmed the way she does, and another hysterical flashback occurs – a birthday party where Emma is seen looking drained and defeated where a bunch of little kids runs havoc.
The Plot Thickens
Heidi then goes on to say she remembers her mom being so put together and another side-splitting flashback shows Emma dragging a trash can out for collection, with no pants on, while a neighbor on her porch stares on in a very unimpressed manner.
Of course, as any mother would do, Thompson’s character then praises her daughter for doing a fantastic job in many situations and even mentions props to her for having an actual sex life after the birth[2] of a child – something most of us know is not all that glamourous after we’ve had a baby, let alone often as we are usually far too exhausted anyway. Heidi’s character goes on to say how commendable her mom was for raising her as a teenager – claiming she felt unjudged and appreciated her mom not snooping and prying – cue another flashback – Emma’s character is shown reading a teenage Heidi’s diary.
Tina Fey and Amy Poehler are seen at the start of the show joining Thomson on stage to add to the already too funny for words episode. They give a lesson on what “mom speak” is and the three of them decipher the code language us mom’s use – so funny and so true!
Motherhood: The Real Truth
The ironic but beautiful message of this video shows how our children really do see us in such good light, even when we make mistakes it’s the good and happy moments that often stand out more than any. This is what makes motherhood so precious and beautiful.
We are often are far too harsh on our own parenting skills.[3] When the fact is we are so unaware that our own parents went through the same, felt the same, and probably reacted the same way we do. We just love too much to really remember anything any other way than perfect. And that is exactly what parenting is, making mistakes, not getting it right every time, but having an overwhelming love for our babies. And that’s all they see. Love.
It’s still a few months away, but hopefully this mother’s day we can all take a much needed “day off” and pat ourselves on the back for a job well done. A far better idea than sit and wonder what we aren’t doing right. It’s definitely no easy task raising a child, let alone more than one!
Without further ado – SNL skit ‘The Perfect Mother’! Enjoy the laugh!
Keep Reading: 30 Years Later, This Brazilian Family Cleaned Out Their Storage Room and Found Their Long-Lost Pet Tortoise
References
- “Coping with Frustrations of Motherhood” Family Edicayion.
- “Get Your Sex Life Back After Baby.” Web MD. Carrie Sloan.
- “35 Facts About Parenting No One Talks About” Very Well Family . Sherri Gordon. June 02, 2020.