My $13 haircut and $20 pedicure from yesterday’s solo day out have Mommy more or less back in form… cheerful (for a cranky bugger) and content on a Monday morning. Or at least approaching cheerful when from the next room, I hear:
"Mr. Duck is heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeere!!" followed by "THIS time, DON’T call me Dude!"
Then I laugh out loud and the girls, startled, look at me like I’ve sprung 3 heads (or laughed). And their big grins remind me of one of my most important Mommy Rules –teach the girls that they’re delightful and funny and likeable. I can accomplish this by uttering a big honest guffaw at their weirdness once in awhile.
I remember how much fun I had as a kid when I made my parents laugh… Even now when my folks tell me long stories about their hangnails and sciatica and wasp problems, if I can make them laugh I feel successful and warm inside.
So tip over the seratonin bucket, Mommy’s got her laugh on!
Reminds me of the scene in Uncle Buck when he confronts the principal. Why must we try so hard to remove all the weird from them?
‘Course, I suspect their mom is a bit unique too. (grin)
A.D.P.
One of my favorite parts of being a mom is the opportunity it provides to utter otherwise surreal statements. Non-parents will not get to say “Honey sometimes strangers don’t want to be hit with snakes” and after a certain point in time the phrase “Where are your pants?” will fall out of use for them. Poor folks, they have no idea what they’re missing.
Surreal statements are most definitely one of the best reasons to be a parent. That and the karmic satisfaction of finally being able to utter the old standby “because I said so.”
I put my own spin on that one, and go with “because I’m just mean!” So far my son has always responded by giggling and telling me that I’m not mean. I know that won’t last long