Ah… the ol’ about me page and what makes me interesting enough to feel as though the world needs yet another “mommy blog”. I am not sure I have an answer for that except, if I see one more blog, post, pin, tweet, or however you stay connected with the world article about some impossible, standard for families, I may throw my computer in the trash. No, that’s not true, I just got a new Mac and I love it. I will throw someone else’s computer in the trash. I see so many articles about is my baby under-stimulated, over-stimulated. Are the involved in enough activities, there is a whole hour on Thursday where there is nothing planned? My poor kids did not have this problem. They were so under stimulated. They had to play with their siblings and watched so much TV. Turns out, you don’t have to be the perfect mommy. You can have your own interest, and be your own person and still have great kids.
My kids are now teenagers. However, I do need to point out my husband and myself survived the baby olympics. We went from having zero kids for the first six years of our marriage. The the skies opened up and literally rained babies. We were blessed with twin girls right out of the gate. No big deal.. mostly. Many people have twins. We are both college educated people and have an awesome marriage. We got this. We are bright people. It is very hard to explain to a screaming child at 2am that no, they are not hungry, and are just, in fact being an asshole. No matter how many spreadsheets you have to explain this.
So, fast forward 11 months… when everyone was sleeping and eating on schedule. Midnight bottles are a thing of the past, some of the baby weight is coming off. Okay, whew, deep breath. One day at work, you have some eggs and go back to the lab (where you work because…science) and you barely make it to the bathroom before vomiting up eggs. Yes, pregnant. Again. Surprise!!! After the initial shock wore off, and my husband agreed to let me back in the house, we went through another pregnancy . We introduced child number 3, a son, in to the mix.
Two parents, three babies under the age of 2. I wanted to be the perfect mom. I wanted to do crafts and go on day trips. I wanted to be the center of my child’s universe. However, truth is most days were about getting out alive. Someone was always crying, and not always the kids. I’m sure they began to think we were all weirdos for always looking in their diapers trying to find the offender. We did not do play dates because there were 3 of them. We didn’t go on day trips because I am not a lunatic. Did I fail as a mom for not being able to answer every whim, whimper, thought, and suggestion of my children? I am going to give my honest answer and say my kids turned out way better. My kids, MY kids, have turned out to be self reliant, independent, and amazing. They did retain a bit of that asshole gene though. I should try to blame my husband, but we all know it came from me.
So, I have 3, very independent, strong-willed, sarcastic, funny kids. My. husband is more than I deserve and I am a person that realizes my children benefit more from me being my own persons than spending all my spare time organizing and trying to run their lives. They will be gone quicker that I am willing to admit. I am glad I am not waiting until my very full nest is suddenly empty, to figure out who I am and what I want. Yes, I am a mother. Yes, I do love my children more than they will ever know. However, I am also a wife, a college graduate, a professional, and a person that has my own interests. Moms, please stop putting yourself behind everyone else in the family.
I need to laugh, everyday. I find humor in almost everything. “If you can laugh in the face of adversity, you are bulletproof” – Ricky Gervais
