A mother on moms

Big Man is worried about what to get me for Mother's Day. I don't like plants because with them comes yet one more thing to keep alive.  Books are as essential to my life as food so there is a steady supply of those. And yet I kind of get a bit nauseous when I read or hear from other mom's that all they want from Mother's Day is to be with their family.


I want to think they are lying.


I need a lot. Mostly, I want to be left alone to write and take a walk. I would then find a few girlfriends and a bottle of wine or some margaritas. My kids can show up later with homemade gifts and dessert and that, my friends, would be my idea of a lovely day.


I love my kids....I do I do....but my world doesn't revolve around them and this is why I always seem to have trouble. Because my world does revolve around them, and there are days when this pisses me off.  I am needy. I want to be able to do what I want, go where I want, socialize when I want, have sex when I want, sleep in or stay up late when I want, and kids really put a wrench in all of that.


It's not popular to say these things and I can hear people already.  "So why did you have kids?  Quit your whining and suck it up."


I had kids because I couldn't imaging NOT having kids, and because Big Man and I came from happy families and wanted to have a piece of that.  In short, we wanted to have little people to share our life with- the life that we dreamed about. But like many 20-somethings, we didn't think a whole lot about what the actual involvement of having kids meant.  For so long, it was merely a romantic idea.  Later, it became a quest. Finally, at long last, it became a reality. And when I gave birth, I did not hand over my life. Except that I did and there is the rub.


I am lucky beyond belief. I am lucky that despite the pain and anguish we went through to have kids, somehow my body and psyche rallied enough to produce not one but two healthy children.


I am lucky because I have a partner who is funny and kind and compassionate and smart and playful and isn't freaked out about being alone with his own kids.


I am lucky because I have parents and in-laws who love their grandchildren enough to want to be around them.


I am lucky because I can feed and clothe my kids and give them want they need and some things that they don't.


I am lucky because I know imposing limits on my children, while making them mad in the short term, will help them in the long run.


I am lucky because I know I am lucky.  I take time to acknowledge this every day, but this doesn't prevent me from being human.


I experienced some brief baby nirvana when Thing 1 was born followed by some baby blues. When Thing 2 came around, it was full-on postpartum depression so his young self got the shaft.  Thankfully we made up for it in copious snuggling and love-fests after the drugs kicked in. However, I must say I never felt completely given over to my kids. I always seem to want a little opening, a little something just for me in the day-to-day grind that revolves around their schedules and needs. It might just be me. Or maybe there is one other woman out there willing to fess up.


I will freely admit that I just have not inhabited the mother-world in a way that other women seem to.  I am not gob-smacked on a daily basis by the glories of being a mom.  I don't raise my hand with joy at chaperoning a field trip or working at a fund raiser. Some people glow with such passion and excitement and inhabit these roles as comfortably as they would their favorite sweatshirt. These women are the CEO's of mom world and I am simply working the line. I tolerate what needs to be done and secretly long for other adults to show up at the park so I can get out of monster-roaring and tickle-relays in a legitimate way. I prefer the quiet of my car rather the noise of a soccer field or fledgling orchestra concerts.  None of this is to say that I don't love my kids because nothing could be farther from the truth. But being a mom and all that it entails isn't always a hat I wear comfortably. 


What I'd really like from this Mother's Day is for everyone to get real about being a mom. If you love it from sun up to sun down, I am happy for you.  However, if you crack, need a break, forgo making that homemade birthday cake and use bribery to get out of what seems like torture to you, I would love to hear it. I would love to know I am not the only one who hides in the shower to avoid violin screeching and Pokemon battles.  I would love to hear I am in the company of other women with deep rich lives who can momentarily dream about things that have absolutely nothing to do with their kids...even if the dreaming has to occur in the bathroom.


Because in our dreaming we become more of who we are meant to be and this is exactly what we hope for our children--to be all they are meant to be. Why wouldn't we want the same for ourselves?




Comments

  1. You are not alone. There are millions of us out here. And I love a blog post that is real enough to remind us all of that instead of making us all feel like somehow we're failing in comparison. The truth is that every mother wants to get away from it and every mother longs for me time. Every mother remembers fondly what it felt like to just lay around and perhaps fall asleep reading a book. Again, this is why I come here. You tell it like it is. I hope you get some of what you need/want/deserve on Mother's Day.

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  2. Lisa i can really relate to so many things you said. Count me in as the mom that sometimes needs space and a little time for herself.

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  3. Ahh....do those 'other' moms really exist? If so, I think they are either mythical....or somewhat psychotic.

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