Why be an Angel Mom?

I could tell you that I have three reasons -- Tyler, Cory, and Lauranna -- and that would be true, as far as it goes. I love the kids, and I believe they deserve to be loved and indulged; all children do. That wouldn't be a reason to start, though; until I came to know the children. Why would one accept the responsibility to give love to a child one might never see, to send gifts for no material return?

For many of the women who are Angel Moms, it would seem that the primary reason is religious. They believe that their god would want them to be generous, especially to children in need. AMOE's founder expressed this in verse: "I thought I heard the Lord say / 'Set my children free' / So I made a child smile today / And I know God's pleased with me."

This is not my reason. This is not my religion, either, for that matter; I tend towards agnosticism more than anything else. I do not have a mandate from God to be a good person, and I honestly don't think I need one. I do want to be a good person, though.

I think that good people tend to be generous, warm, and loving. I am pretty sure this does not describe me, but I try to act as if it did. In this way, I suppose I can fool people into thinking that I really am a good person. Some day I might even achieve the ultimate goal of fooling myself. :-)

The real reason I care for these children, though, is that it makes me feel good. I am happy when I know that the gift I spent so long choosing went over well with the child. I feel a sense of accomplishment when I find a toy that is both appealing to the child and in accordance with my beliefs about what is good for him or her.

Malxe accuses me of having a bit of what gamers call a "Monty Haul" approach to being an Angel Mom. The rules for being an Angel Mom say that one is to give a gift on holidays, and so I do. I may, however, be the only Angel Mom who agonises over what would be a suitable gift for Washington's birthday. (An American dollar bill would seem appropriate, perhaps, but the rules forbid giving cash.) I now have it from the founder that 'a gift on holidays' only really means major holidays on which one generally gives gifts . . . but now I've set a precedent.

I don't care. Giving them things makes me feel good, and so more reasons to give them things are beneficial to me too, no? My grandmother doesn't understand when I try to explain to her that I am glad Malxe allowed me to spend more money on the children rather than Malxe buying me a gift for Christmas. Others have said I seem to be a very generous person. It's not really generosity, though . . . it's how I feel good about myself.

And, of course, I love the kids. :-)