Trophies

For my wife Corey, my mom Becky, my mother-in-law Eileen, and many loving grandmothers.

At the ripe old age of 30, a married man and father to a young son, I suppose I'm at a point in my life where I can afford to divulge one of the few dating tricks I discovered just before meeting my wife: It's the best ice-breaker I ever came up with-

"If you could attend your own dream concert consisting of two opening acts and a main event, and the artists could be ANYONE from any genre and any time in history, who would you go see?"

Not to brag, but in the world of digital dating, this worked really well.

I suppose you want to know what my wife said. After all, her response was the only one that mattered at the end of the day.

But...I don't know what she said. What matters is she replied! And for whatever it's worth- I'm sure the Jonas Brothers and Taylor Swift made the line-up.

I love music. I love hearing songs from all sorts of musical genres. So, while this little icebreaker did assist me in finding my wife, it also proved to be a fun exploration of how other people might mix and match their own favorite artists from across the musical spectrum to create the perfect show.

Something I've always found interesting about the world's most popular musicians is the societal paradox they have to overcome:

• Produce music that is relatable and enjoyable for the masses.

But also:

• Be authentic

Because, let's face it-

Is Taylor Swift really like us?

The answer may shock you: No, she's not. The things that she shakes off and the things that we shake off aren't the same.

That's not to say we should fault her for it. After all, there are literally hundreds of millions of human beings out there who would tell you that their lives have been bettered by Taylor Swift's contributions to the music world.

Then there are others who say her music sounds like nails on a chalkboard.

Regardless of anyone's personal opinions of Taylor Swift's music, the challenge she and other popular artists face is obvious: How does one create relatable and authentic music for the world's peasants while flying high on a Falcon 7X?

Talk about 1% problems. But this dilemma transcends genres.

I was recently listening to a song by the world-renowned hip-hop artist, Drake, and I heard a lyric that I found...amusing.

I'm just tryna stay alive and take care of my people

And they don't have no award for that

Trophies, trophies

And they don't have no award for that

Sh** don't come with trophies, ain't no envelopes to open

I just do it cause I'm 'sposed to

This is a song lyric from a guy who has a separate wikipedia page for his list of awards and nominations in the music industry because it's too large to include on his personal wikipedia page.

With all due respect to Drake, I just don't know that he's in any position to gripe about not getting enough recognition.

But as I listened to these lyrics, I was reminded of a very particular demographic that may relate to his words:

Moms!

Yes, the dearest mothers around us in life. Little did they know that 5-time grammy award winning artist Drake knows their plight in life.

(Ha!)

As you think of the moms you know, whether they be a grandmother, your own mother, a wife, a sister, or a daughter, how many times have you looked at them and seen an unbridled determination to "Stay alive and take care of my people"?

I can say that I've witnessed that more times than I can remember. And I assume it's just because that's what moms do.

Moms are natural "glue guys".

Forgive me for the gender-noncomforming term here, but in my feeble man-brain, I simply can't come up with a better description.

If by some chance you aren't a sports fan who is intimately familiar with the concept of a "glue guy", allow me to explain-

We all know about the All-Stars. The athletes that win the MVP awards. The Heisman. The Masters Champion. The Gold Medalist.

The ones who seek the glory and oftentimes receive it.

And then there are role-players. The role players understand that they don't have All-Star caliber talent, but they believe in their hearts and minds that the All-Stars would not be able to do what they do if not for role players doing their job. Role players demand to be recognized; otherwise they'll go find a new team and an All-Star who will appreciate them.

And then there's the "glue guy". The glue guys do the dirty work. They don't care what their own stats look like at the end of the day because that's not what matters to them. They're just doing anything they can think of to help the team win. And they show up every day.

On top of all of that, they do it with the understanding that their efforts may only be noticed by those who witness them first-hand. Their work isn't for individual awards or trophies; there won't be any.

Glue guys are hard to find. You don't just build one. And you really can't go find one either, because they're loyal to their team. You just hope that one day...you have one.

Despite how hard it is to find a glue guy for your favorite sports team, every Mom I've been blessed to know and love has been a glue guy. For Moms, it seems like the capacity to be a glue guy was inside of them all along.

Of course, none of this is to say that Moms can't be All-Stars too. A woman's inherent capacity to be a glue gal (how about that for a term?) does not impede her ability to rise to other stardom. There may even be instances where moms need to be the All-Star, and fortunately for all of us, they have a tendency to maintain their glue guy abilities while doing so.

If not for my wife's All-Stardom, our household would be in a trophy drought.

Every year on the second Sunday in May, we dedicate a day to show our gratitude for our household glue guys. We give them cards and flowers (both figuratively and literally). We try to give them a rest from their maternal duties.

But that day comes and goes. The flowers die and the cards are placed in drawers to collect dust. Moms return to their many tasks and responsibilities, yet there remain no trophies or plaques with their names on them in recognition of all that they do.

Perhaps we can change that perception though.

One of the best things about sports is that when a team wins a Championship, every man and woman on the roster and coaching staff receives a ring.

The All-Stars.

The Role-players.

The Glue Guys.

Every member of the team takes a turn holding the trophy by themselves and they take photographs with it. Because regardless of what any individual's stat-line or accolades may look like, they all won that title.

To the moms in my life: Thank you for being on my team. I know that while I'm hardly the world's most successful person, I am grateful to you for your part in the sucess that I've had. I know that the accomplishments I've had in my life are yours to share, and I hope you know that too.

Me and my Mom.