This week I got invited to the Smart Cookie Awards, hosted by Cookie Magazine. I was excited because Cookie is a cool, stylish parenting magazine and because I would finally be able to wave my Smart Cookie award in my husband’s elitist Emmy winning face and show him he’s not the only star around here.

Of course, I didn’t actually win a Smart Cookie award but I hoped he’d be too drunk by the end of the evening to notice such a minor detail.

So who did win? Women whose maternal instincts to love, nurture and protect have gone way beyond their own families, as they’ve reached out to help mothers and children across the globe. Debra Messing, Uma Thurman, Judy Woodruff and Salma Hayek were among the winners.

Salma Hayek was not there to accept her award which was actually a bit fortuitous because she’s Rick’s celebrity crush who long ago, I gave him a free pass to hook up with. You know, not thinking that he might actually run into the actress one day.

Maybe she skipped this awards ceremony to avoid instigating marital strife between Rick and me. Or maybe she just had a scheduling conflict.

All the winners highlighted their nonprofit organizations and it made me feel pathetic because I’ve totally given up volunteering since becoming a mom.

I think I first started volunteering in my twenties because some knucklehead told me it would be a good way to meet single guys.  But I quickly realized all the guys were at the sports bar watching the game, and not teaching senior citizens macramé.

Despite the lack of eligible men, I still volunteered a great deal. But then I  lost my good deed mojo once I had a crying baby at home. Now I realize, I need to get my arse back in gear.

At the Cookie ceremony, I was particularly touched by the work of Unicef, an organization trying to prevent mothers and babies from dying of tetanus in remote parts of the world.

One of the organization’s honchos told a story about a baby who was dying of tetanus and could have been saved by medication costing less than two dollars. Instead, he lay alone dying because tetanus makes you very sensitive to light and touch, so his mother couldn’t even hold him as he passed away.

That is just unacceptable. By getting vaccines to these places, tetanus could be eliminated within 5 years.

I seriously had tears rolling down my face through the whole ceremony as each of the seven winners talked about their causes… including the homeless, youth AIDS and children with birth defects. And I’m not the crier in this family. Just ask Rick. Oh wait, he’s sobbing through a surprisingly emotional “30 Rock.” He’ll get back to you.

After the ceremony, I felt like I had been cleansed em0tionally. I absolutely promised myself to start volunteering again. Because someday, I want one of those Smart Cookie awards. Or an Emmy. Or maybe a stained mug that says, “World’s Best Mom.” I realize I need to be flexible.

mama bird notes:

spotamomI was spotted by 1-800-flowers.com! The company sent me a beautiful, fair trade certified bouquet. And just in time for Mother’s Day. How sweet. Thank you.

If you order from 1-800-flowers.com, you can get 15% off with this coupon code: SPOTAMOM.

I made the the Moms at Work virtual nightstand at the Orlando Sentinel! I’m so honored. Thank you so much.  Click here to check out what else they’re reading.

Finally, if you are following my 23andMe journey, here’s an excerpt from my latest post: Does My Baby Have Down’s Syndrome?

“When I was pregnant for the first time, I was sort of clueless about all the tests involved. When my doctor first mentioned the Nuchal scan, I had never heard of it. But it sounded like a good idea….”

To read more, visit 23andMe.

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