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."