In our household, I’m often referred to as
Mean Mommy. Mostly because I enforce the rules, insist the kids eat their
vegetables, make their beds, and veto calls for staying up late on school
nights. Now I’m not saying that my husband is not a disciplinarian but let’s
face the facts – Mommy is the one who’s in the background preparing meals,
scheduling extra-curricular activities and medical appointments, going through
the agendas, doing loads of laundry while Daddy is in the forefront playing
with the monkeys, and taking them out so I can tidy the house and enjoy the
tidiness for a few minutes before the orderliness is destroyed. Daddy is the
one who takes them to the park, or plays hockey in the driveway. Daddy is
always the one who is on board for an après-dinner walk to the ice cream store,
and sporting events complete with junk food and a souvenir or two.
But for a brief couple of days this week, I
am getting to be Fun Mommy. Somehow I got roped into bringing half of our brood
with me to my annual, week-long, professionally required, continuing legal
education course. I usually look forward to this work related duty as a
reprieve from my parental duty. There’s usually a spa session booked for after
class hours, leisurely meals at restaurants that have real tablecloths and not
a television set in sight, nights spent reading books without pictures, and a
glass or two of fine wine. This year, I brought Devlin and Ceilidh with me.
While in class, those two are at day camp – sports for both, art for Ceilidh
and science for Devlin. Both seem to be enjoying their stay, and have made
friends at camp. Aside from the 5 minute walk to the camp drop off location
which always seems to elicit much groaning, both have been behaving for the most
part. I think I’ve only raised my voice twice.
As Fun Mommy, I’ve stocked our room with
chips and cookies. I rewarded their willingness to try a new food item (yummy
Mediterranean cuisine) with ginormous bowls of frozen yogurt topped with all
sorts of candy, of which they only ate a few spoonfuls. This Fun Mommy hasn’t
raised a stink about the lack of vegetables in their meals. They had dinner at
the movie theater last night! Hot dogs and popcorn, all washed down with the
forbidden drink – coke!
Fun Mommy sat down and watched the Avengers
with Devlin and worked on puzzles with Ceilidh. Mean Mommy is still lurking
underneath to ensure teeth are brushed and manners are on display. Reasonable
bedtimes are still maintained. Clearly, piano practice sessions have been
cancelled and I’ve given them a break on the daily homework assignments. I’ve
encouraged some leisure reading, but agreed to letting them watch a movie on
the laptop before bed instead.
I’ve revelled in the spontaneous hugs from
my first born, sleeping with Ceilidh in a tiny twin bed because she can’t fall
asleep on her own, and having the luxury of really listening to their silly
jokes and their fantasies of having a unicorn for a pet. Sometimes, I wonder if
this is what life would be like we stopped at two? A more sane pace of life?
Probably not. Alas, our week is ending,
and I’ll be resorting back to my usual role of Mean Mommy. I’ve enjoyed these
few days of reprieve from the daily drudgery of commuting and rushing to tackle
laundry, meal preparation, cleaning, handing out household tasks, nagging the
kids to brush their teeth and cleaning up the bathroom after bathing 4
kids. (Why can’t the water ever stay in the tub?)
But I can’t begin to
tell you about how much I miss the other half of my off-spring. It’s been a
nice vacation parenting two instead of four, but I am an incomplete mother this
week. Just remind me of that when I’m
cursing under my breath about the whining, squabbling, and the frenetic chaos
of my life.
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