When we were at the arts festival a few weeks ago, an encounter with another mother got me thinking. She had her three kids with her. Her older boy was probably 4, his sister was almost three, and the baby had just turned 1. She looked harried, and asked, "Is this your first?" I answered in the affirmative and she said, "For heaven's sake stop there. It only gets worse." She didn't look at all like she was joking. I did a double take to make sure. Not a hint of a wink, smile, or anything that indicated she might have been just kidding. The kids weren't being horrible, just being kids (fidgeting in the stroller on a 90+ degree day--it was really humid, too). She just left me with the impression that she was not at all happy to be a mom that day. I'm sure there are days she feels otherwise, but it really really didn't feel like it. I hope I didn't come off as judging this mom, because that's not my intention. It just made me think.
I hope with everything in me that when I have a bad day with my kid(s), I can somehow manage to communicate that even when I'm at my worst, and my son, the object of my deepest affection, is driving me up a wall, that there's no way I'd trade being his mother for anything in the world.
2 comments:
There are some days when I would hand Princess off to the highest bidder, and there are days like today that I wouldn't trade her for all the world's riches. But I would never openly admit that some days she runs my life (instead of the other way 'round). Was she alone? I can't imagine being a single mom of 3. That would be really hard. I think that my kids would be wards of the state, as I would be in the padded room being pumped full of all sorts of psychotropic substances. LOL
She had her husband with her. He seemed to be having a reasonable time. Everyone was really hot though, so that must have had something to do with it. I made a comment about how they really seemed sweet, and how much I enjoyed my siblings now, and I think she understood that she came across a little harshly, because by the end of our brief conversation, she was smiling a little.
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