Tsk Tsk

An old joke, in honor of Mother's Day. What do "60 Minutes" and a Jewish mother have in common?  Answer:
Get it? A Jewish mother is always tsk-ing. Any mother, in fact, is always tsk-ing. There's always something going on that makes us tsk tsk tsk. Sometimes it's our children. I used to tsk plenty at all the dumb stuff they pulled when they were younger. Tsk-ing was either the precursor to yelling, or the only reaction I could muster due to exhaustion. These days, when it comes to my sons, I kvell more than I tsk, but believe me, this wasn't always the case.

Of course, I still tsk daily and with feeling at a variety of targets. Bad drivers. Bad news. Bad politicians. So the other night, I made up a term, my gift to all the mothers out there celebrating Mother's Day, and all the mothers who are no longer here for us to honor in person with flowers, perfume, or a spa day. Still, we celebrate them and their loving, at times judgmental, mostly well-meaning ways. Which explains my new term for motherhood:

Tsk-A-Tarian.

Given all our mommy-hyphenates, we are all a combo platter, are we not? If you only eat fish, you're a Pescetarian-Tsk-A-Tarian. Or maybe you're a Unitarian-Tsk-A-Tarian... a Presbyterian-Tsk-A-Tarian... a Vegetarian-Tsk-A-Tarian. In my own case, I'm a Kvetch-A-Tarian-Tsk-A-Tarian.

No matter what kind of Tsk-A-Tarian you may be, Happy Mother's Day to all the cool moms, and the regular moms, too.