Mothering

In honor of Mother's day, I'm going to try to post a few of my favorite stories and experiences between now and Sunday. Here are two less than ideal mommy moments. I heard the other day that time + tragedy = comedy. I agree completely.

#1Here is a summary of a journal excerpt from December 30, 1999.

I was so frustrated with Isaac tonight. I took him to the mall today and he was pretty ornery because it was his nap time. He fell asleep in the car but didn't sleep for very long once we got home, so he was being a rascal. I was trying to do the budget and he drew on the wall, drew on the budget sheet, poked me in the eye with a pencil, tried to throw our glass plate of Gethsemane at our Christus statue, etc, etc. I was so frustrated.

To top it off, I called Swen at 6:05 and he said he was leaving work in 10 minutes. I was already out of patience and strength because of the pregnancy and Isaac, but I really wanted to have a good dinner. I forced myself to make some chicken fajitas. 20 minutes later, I called to make sure Swen was gone, and he said he was leaving in 2 minutes. The fajitas were almost done, but I thought to myself that it was okay if they sat for a few minutes before Swen got home. I rushed to finish all the garnishes and to set the table with Isaac hanging on me the whole time.

25 minutes later, Swen called to say he was just leaving work. I went to stir the fajitas, and started crying because they were already overdone and Swen wouldn't be home for another 25 minutes. To top off the whole situation, Isaac was hanging on me crying or when he wasn't doing that, he was trying to climb on the table or pull the place settings off.

I had to keep reminding myself that motherhood is worth it. Swen finally came home, and right as we were sitting down, our downstairs neighbors called to ask what smelled so good. Swen invited them up and I started bawling because of everything that had piled up. Dinner actually turned out okay, in spite of the embarrassment caused by the puffy eyes.

Swen left to go home teaching at 9:00, and I got Isaac ready for bed. In the middle of his prayer, Isaac leaned over and zuberted my arm. I couldn't stop laughing! I finally gained control, finished the prayer, and leaned over to adjust the sound spa. Isaac came over and gave me a big kiss on the cheek, then 3 on the lips. Then he gave me a big hug and went right to bed without crying. Isaac seemed to know I needed some cheering up tonight. Mothering is certainly a mixed bag!

#2: May-ish, 2010

After having Maxwell, most of the time I felt like I had totally lost control! When I sat down to nurse him, I would cringe to think of the 4 other children's' ability to make 4 separate messes--and there wasn't a thing I could do about it while I was stuck in that chair. When Maxwell was about 1 month old, Alyssa and Lincoln had made a huge mess during craft time. They had cut advertisements into tiny shreds which covered the kitchen floor. I told them they needed to clean up the mess while I went upstairs to feed Max. He was a slow eater, and I accidentally fell asleep while he ate. Something awoke me a while later and I descended the stairs with trepidation. I believe I screamed when I saw what awaited me there. Alyssa and Lincoln were up on the bar stools, giggling with delight while they dropped light bulbs on the floor and watched them shatter. The floor was littered with mounds of hair and broken eggshells, along with the paper shreds from before. I groaned as I realized they had discovered what fun an overfull trashcan can be. The hair from yesterday's haircuts, the burned out light bulbs we had replaced last night, and our cast off food had provided them with some great entertainment! I called Swen and told him I was done mothering for the day, and I was ready for him to come home from work RIGHT NOW!!! By the time he got home, all was good with the world again. And I was left with the feeling, as I often am after these experiences, that I really wish I would have taken a picture instead of getting mad!