Tuesday, June 3, 2008

That Mom

When my babies were born, I knew certain things I wanted to do and be as a mom. I knew I wanted to breastfeed. I knew my kids would sleep in their own beds in their own rooms. I knew they would go to daycare as I went back to work as a teacher.

I also knew I would never be "that mom." You know the one.

And then one day...I became her.

I knew I would never be the mom that names their kids with the same initial letter. Ahem.

I knew I would never be the mom who bribes her children to behave. Now, bribe is my middle name.

I knew I would never be the mom who opens packages of snacks in the grocery store in an attempt at a peaceful, quiet shopping trip. Today, not a grocery trip goes by without a cashier saying, "Ma'am. Did you know these Fruit Roll-Ups are open?" Ummmm, yes?

I knew I would never be the mom to say, "Because I said so." Now it rates right up there as the #1 saying of the day along with, "No. Put that down. You have 3 seconds! Say you're sorry. Give her a hug. Are you kidding me? Who made this mess?" Sigh.


I knew I would never be the mom to overprotect her children. And then the Girl came home from daycare with a large, bruised, broke-the-skin, kind of bite. We're talking...I could count the demon child's teeth by the mark on my daugher's arm. Momma got a little overprotective.

I knew I would never be the mom that cuts the crusts off of my children's sandwiches. Whoops. Did I say that?


Despite doing some of the things I thought I would never do, I have done many things I am proud of as a parent. I have happy, healthy, polite (usually!), caring children. I tuck them in every night with story after story. We hug. We kiss. We sing. We pray.

I guess there are worse things than being "that mom."


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18 comments:

Anonymous said...

LOL - that sounds just like me. although I am not going with the same initial things - i do think it is cute - it just rings to close to what my ever annoying mother in law did. And - as for cutting the crust - try this on for size - I actually take out the apple cutter (the one that makes 8 pieces and takes out the core) and use that to make the sandwiches into a little flower. My own mother rolls my eyes!!!

I think that sadly, I rather enjoy being that mom. Sadly, I am also that mom that when my 2 year old darts away into the middle of a parking lot full of cars, grabs him by the arm and yells at him in front of everyone. Oh, it was a sad day!

Anonymous said...

PS Sorry for the novel!

my2boyz said...

YEP I am so that mom! Nothing wrong with it. Some kid punched my son I could have tore the little demons head off!

Tiffany said...

This is so great. I SWORE my kids would never sleep in my bed.. took me 5 years to get that boy out... and he still likes to sneak back in.

Your posts are always so thoughtful.. and you know how I feel about your girl...

Merrie said...

I could have written this. And our kids won't suffer for it. :)

Love the flower sandwich idea -- I'm going to have to try that!

Mamahut said...

Your little ones are beautiful. I am so with you on not being that mom! Sigh, mine are 10 and 12 year old boys and they just get louder and louder every year.

Finding Normal said...

I'm that mom too. My kids are currently both up past bedtime. The living room is semi-trashed. Cars is on the boob tube. Neither of them will have a bath because we just didn't get dirty enough today. Such is life.

Kristen Andrews said...

love this post! Isn't it funny how judgemental we can be before we have kids of our own! My middle name is Bribe!

Kristen Andrews said...

love this post! Isn't it funny how judgemental we can be before we have kids of our own! My middle name is Bribe!

Danielle said...

So funny! I never thought I would pick poop up with my hands. One bathtub pooper later and what can you do...

I love the name Claire and she is so cute I just want to eat her up!!!!

Came over from SITS!!

Jacki McHale said...

My two little ones are just 2 and 6 weeks, I am already that mom and damn proud!

Jacki
via SITS

Nancy Hood said...

ha ha ha One of the 'mom sayings' our daughters tease me about now is they remember me saying "never say never" and "because I said so, that's why!" aaaahhh, and to know with certainity they will repeat it all to their kids one day ;)

Angie's Spot said...

This Angie is "that mom" too and it happened almost instantaneously! And yes, there are much worse things than that. And don't feel bad, not only do my girls names start with the same letter, they have the exact same initials as me! I probably need to see a therapist about that. LOL! Visiting from SITS.

Melissa Lester said...

Loved this post! I think we are all "that mom" sometimes, and our own mothers as well!

Cecily R said...

I've loved all the posts I've read this morning on your blog (I came over from SITS), but THIS makes me love you!! I think I said all the same "I'll nevers" and have done them all...somedays in one day! :)

Swirl Girl said...

I am that mom too...

scary, huh??

John Deere Mom said...

I am glad to be a part of the "that mom" club. We need t-shirts or something! Engraved flasks? That just screams Mother of the Year, doesn't it?!

Jackie said...

Among other things I never thought I'd be that mom with bed-head kids. How much time could it take to fix the kids hair, really? Little did I know it wasn't just time ... but also the screaming and gnashing of teeth that occurs at the sight of a brush ... I have significantly lowered the bar on what constitutes decent hair.

Your post was such a pleasure to read ... thanks for sharing.