When I became pregnant with each of my kids I started living life with the understanding that what was mine was also theirs.
From the moment they were zygotes, my kids were in control of my body. They dictated when I could sleep, what I could eat, and how I could otherwise spend my time. It may not always be ideal but I knowingly signed up for it.
When I became a stay at home mom I knew I would go days at a time without having the opportunity to be both awake and alone. Yes it gets troublesome at times when you need to do something private and it's just not an option, but I take comfort in the fact that most babies and toddlers are too young to form many lifelong memories.
I also knew that it would be years before I could enjoy a meal, adult conversation, or the ability to complete any task without being interrupted a million times. Luckily I can usually talk myself down from going completely bonkers when I remind myself that it feels amazing to be needed and this phase won't last forever.
I have allowed my kids to use my toothbrush, kick me out of my own bed, sit on my lap while I'm on the toilet or at my feet while I'm in the shower and generally without complaint. I assumed there was no limit to my willingness to share everything with them.
Tonight I told the kids to save me one snickerdoodle to eat after I finished cleaning up from dinner. There were 5 in the package when I only had one more pot to wash, so I assumed there was no risk of them disappearing. Boy was I wrong!
I looked over at Henry munching away on what was supposed to be MY cookie and said "I thought I asked you to save one for me." He responded with, "Woops! Sorry! Here you go mom," and he extended a half eaten, saliva soaked cookie in my direction. I could tell by the look on his face that he never expected me to take it.
From the moment they were zygotes, my kids were in control of my body. They dictated when I could sleep, what I could eat, and how I could otherwise spend my time. It may not always be ideal but I knowingly signed up for it.
When I became a stay at home mom I knew I would go days at a time without having the opportunity to be both awake and alone. Yes it gets troublesome at times when you need to do something private and it's just not an option, but I take comfort in the fact that most babies and toddlers are too young to form many lifelong memories.
I also knew that it would be years before I could enjoy a meal, adult conversation, or the ability to complete any task without being interrupted a million times. Luckily I can usually talk myself down from going completely bonkers when I remind myself that it feels amazing to be needed and this phase won't last forever.
I have allowed my kids to use my toothbrush, kick me out of my own bed, sit on my lap while I'm on the toilet or at my feet while I'm in the shower and generally without complaint. I assumed there was no limit to my willingness to share everything with them.
Tonight I told the kids to save me one snickerdoodle to eat after I finished cleaning up from dinner. There were 5 in the package when I only had one more pot to wash, so I assumed there was no risk of them disappearing. Boy was I wrong!
I looked over at Henry munching away on what was supposed to be MY cookie and said "I thought I asked you to save one for me." He responded with, "Woops! Sorry! Here you go mom," and he extended a half eaten, saliva soaked cookie in my direction. I could tell by the look on his face that he never expected me to take it.
Most loving moms would have said, "It's ok honey, next time you'll remember right?"
Ha! Not here. This Mama snatched that cookie right out of his outstretched hand and polished it off in one gloriously satifying bite.
What's mine is yours kids, as long as you keep away from my damn snickerdoodles.
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