P&G’s Newest “Thank you, Mom” Ad (PS – It’s a tear-jerker!)

I want to share a story.

This past week my 5 year old son Benjamin joined our pool club’s swim team.  The coach of the 8 and under’s told me that if Benjamin could swim one lap without stopping, he could join.  He’s just there, so we signed him up.

He is the proudest kid on the pool deck next to his big brothers.  He’s beyond excited to be on the team.

As his mom, I watched the other day at practice from the side of the pool with my heart in my throat.  He’s one of the smallest little guy’s on the team.  His bathing suit is way too big for him, but he insists on wearing jammers.  His goggles are always too tight on his ears, but he says he “likes it that way.” On this particular swim day, the coaches had the whole team do drills.  Benjamin was able to do the first 2 or 3 of them, but then he started to get more and more tired.  I kept asking him if he wanted to get out because he just couldn’t keep up, but he refused.  He wanted to stay put.  He wanted to be part of the team.  He wanted to be a big boy.  He wanted to be a swim teamer.

As I watched him put in 110% effort to keep up, I started to cry.  They weren’t sad tears.  They were a mixture of happy and proud tears, mixed with tears feeling badly for him. He wouldn’t give up.  My sister-in-law happened to be next to me and saw that I was crying.  She put her arms around me and said, “Aww… Audge. He’ll be OK. Just think, someday you’ll be telling him this very story.”

Ben trying to keep up... but not giving up!

When I got home from swim practice that afternoon, I saw P&G’s newest Thank you, Mom video…

… and it made me realize, truly… my kids will always be my kids, regardless of their age. It made me cry (again).  In that moment I thought of my Benjamin.  Regardless of what he does with his life and where he goes in life, he will always be that little boy in the pool. He will always be my little engine that could, the one that never gives up.

P&G you have, once again, pulled the strings of my heart with a beautiful ad.

Thank you.

And please remember that there’s still time to donate towards the P&G Team USA Youth Sports Fund. By simply liking @thankyoumom on Twitter, for every new follower P&G will donate $1 to the P&G Team USA Youth Sports Fund up to $50,000. It’s an INCREDIBLE thing that they’re doing!

About Audrey

Audrey McClelland has been a digital influencer since 2005. She’s a mom of 5 and shares tips on her three favorite things: parenting, fashion and beauty. She’s also a Contemporary Romance Author.

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2 Comments

  1. 7.18.12
    Amanda said:

    Oh, this mom gig, it’s excruciating. Every milestone they hit merits celebration and mourning. This was beautiful!

  2. 7.18.12
    Carol said:

    Dude. (tear) Big hugs. You have awesome kids and are an awesome mom. Thanks for sharing this : )

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