Mom

     This morning while visiting with guests I realized 17 years is a long time.  That’s how long Mike and I have owned Voyageur and lived at the end of the Gunflint Trail.  My guests were expressing their intrigue with our summer crew and how I must feel like a mom to all of them.  That kind of caught me off guard because I usually don’t think about the fact I’m old enough now to be their mom.

     When we first bought Voyageur Mike and I were just out of college.  Needless to say we were young.  We were younger than most of the staff that we now hire for the summer.  What a scary thought that is.  The strange thing is I am getting older and the crew we are hiring is still around that twenty year old age range.  I actually could be the mother of our crew members.

     I’ve never been sensitive about age because I have always felt young.  However, one of our guests this morning said something to the effect that my children were so young.  I’m not sure what that meant but I think it was in reference to us having been at Voyageur for so 17 years and my oldest child being only 9 years old.

    Yesterday when driving 3 of Abby’s girlfriends who had slept over down the Trail to meet another mom the girls and I got to talking.  One of the girls said her dad was really old, 37 to be exact.  I inquired how old her mom was to which she replied, "30." Turns out that was the average age of the 3 moms, almost a decade younger than me. 

     I will be forty in December of this year, I’m almost 39 and 1/2.  What does that mean?  Does it mean I’m getting old? Should I have had kids earlier or acted like a mom to my staff earlier?  Who knows the answers to these questions?

     One thing I am certain of is being a mom is the most important job I’ll ever have. It’s a role no one can take over for you; once a mom, always a mom.  My mom would have celebrated her 65th birthday yesterday had she still been alive.  She was only 51 when she passed away.  Is that old?  I guess age doesn’t really matter as much as the job you do while you’re alive.

     I need to update my resume to include Crew Mom.  Wow, that sounds very odd; I think friend or sister sounds better.  I guess the title doesn’t matter as long as you’re doing the best you can at whatever age you’re at.