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(Posted by permission from Dahlynn McKowen, who's part of the faculty for the 2014 Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop. This story will appear in the seventh book in the Not Your Mother's Book series: Not Your Mother's Book…On Being a Mom. It will be released on April 8.)

Moms. We are always on the go, go, go and many times, ignore ourselves in the process.

I used to be one of those busy moms. Back in the day, I held a full-time, high-level management position which ran me ragged. Up early, kids off to school, commute to work to earn my very, very nice paycheck. When it was time to head home, my day went in reverse. Commute, pick up the kids from after-school care then prepare dinner and help with homework. I nary had a moment for myself, except for an occasional glass of wine after the kids were tucked in.

To top everything off, perimenopause was beginning to frustrate me to no end. From sagging body parts to fledgling chin hairs, from fading eyesight to a fading memory, I tried my best to ignore all the signs. I also tried my best to ignore the fact that daily exercise and eating right were not a part of my normal routine. Getting used to this phase of my life at age 43 was slowly becoming a reality. But no one could make this fact more evident to me than my then 10-year-old son Shawn.

From the day he was born, Shawn had always been on the small side. To keep up his self-esteem, the family made it a point to praise him for growing taller, using everyday household objects to gauge his growth. From the first time Shawn was able to see in the bathroom mirror by himself without having to use a stool to being able to sit at the family dinner table without the help of a telephone book, growth milestones in Shawn's life were a constant in our home.

A favorite growth milestone for Shawn was the kitchen countertop. He loved cooking with me, but had to stand on a stool to help. Shawn dreamed of the day he wouldn't have to use the stool anymore to flip pancakes or operate the hand-held mixer.

Then the day came - Shawn finally grew tall enough to see over the counter and the stool was retired. It was then I realized I had to come up with yet another new growth milestone. Looking around, the next obvious one was the top of the refrigerator - at 5-foot 7-inches tall, I couldn't even see over the top of this large appliance. Stumped, I decided to compare my darling son's height to mine, and to use my boobs as his new growth milestone.

My favorite thing in the world is to get hugs from my boy, who is lovable, caring and compassionate. Upon setting the new milestone, whenever he would hug me, I'd say, "Oh, Shawn! You're almost as tall as my boobs!" He'd giggle, mainly because I would over-enunciate the word "boobs."

One morning, when I was enjoying my wake-up hug from Shawn, I was shocked over how tall he was, compared with my boobs. It was as if he had grown four inches overnight!

"Shawn, look how tall you are! You're taller than my boobs!" I exclaimed, mid-hug.

Shawn pulled away and looked up at me with sleepy eyes. He mumbled, "Duh, Mom. You're not wearing a bra." He then headed into the living room to watch TV.

I stood in the kitchen, dumbfounded. Looking down at my perimenopausal body, I realized that Shawn hadn't grown four inches overnight, but quite the opposite-my boobs had decided to sag four inches.

Thanks to my loving, compassionate, caring and honest 10-year-old, I had a breast reduction and lift the following year. Now Shawn is 17 and way taller than my new boobs, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

- Dahlynn McKowen

Dahlynn McKowen, a national award-winning author with more than one million books sold, spent 10 years co-authoring titles for Chicken Soup for the Soul before launching her Not Your Mother's Book anthology in 2012. To date, six NYMB books have been released, covering such topics as parenthood, home improvement, dogs and being a stupid kid. She plans 30 more books on everything from dieting to menopause. She also is CEO and publisher of Publishing Syndicate, based in Northern California. Since selling her first feature article in 1987, Ms. McKowen has sold and published more than 2,000 works, including business features and travel articles.