I wrote this snarky yet very truthful status this morning on facebook. I find it hilarious and extremely annoying that my kids have no concept of the “right” time to ask me a question or for a favor. They just ask. I could be in the middle of 18 things but they are oblivious regardless of how many times I point it out. If I had a quarter for the number of times I have said, “Do I look like I’m just hanging out doing nothing?!!” They always just stare at me like they don’t understand the words I just said and repeat their request with more urgency.
This morning when I was in the middle of our “dash out of the house” routine and Bauer asked me so nonchalantly if I could just turn up the volume of Frozen in the van. It finally clicked. He thinks I have magical powers to do things no other person would be able to do! It seems comical, but it’s true.
To them, I really do have magical powers. I have (despite how poorly I judge my performance some days) always met Every.Single.One. of their needs for as long as they can remember. I’m their person. I’m their mom. They don’t know or care that most of the time I have no idea what I am doing. They don’t know that when they were born (especially Bree) I performed a comedy routine (with crying fits thrown in for good measure) everyday in my care for them. Burping, feeding, wrapping like a burrito – it was all learned on the fly. There is no real way to prepare and eventually you are so tired that you learn that making it up is the only way you are going to survive.
I regularly pull fruit snacks out of my purse, have a band-aid ready when they least expect it, know the answer to any question on the schedule, and frequently provide meals on consecutive days. I find new shows for them to love on Netflix, always know when it is time for new pants or shoes and make life look pretty darn seamless 86 percent of the time.
So without meaning to, I’m realizing now that I have set the bar extremely high. Moms are selfless like that. No wonder Bauer thinks my third arm will appear at any point to turn up the volume right when he asks. He’s not trying to be rude or inconsiderate or funny, he just knows I’m kinda awesome!
Or he’s just clueless.
Probably a little of both!
I think even when we grow up, moms continue to have magical powers. We can’t or won’t let that expectation go. At 35, my mom is typically my first call whenever I need help sorting through a kid issue, a friend issue, a wardrobe issue. She’s my person. In case you didn’t know, she has these magical powers that just let her do a million things at one time.
Last night, I asked my mom about taking care of the kids for some time in August and she with what could have been tears (but I’m assuming was just twinkle) in her eyes, admitted for the first time that she thought taking care of them for that amount of time would just be too much. I totally get it! At 35, I never get into bed at the end of the day without thinking, my kids are too much! Despite my initial disappointment that would have to find alternative childcare, I was just so thankful to have a mom that could be so brutally honest. She’s magical like that. My mom was showing me that its okay to have boundaries, that at some point the third arm gets to disappear for good and doing 5 things at once is just as fulfilling as doing 18.
We talked a bit more and then knowing I had been on my own with the kids all week with Sean out of town, mom’s magical powers came out in full force. She fed me and the kids dinner and helped me take the kids to the pool dealing with two almost potty accidents along the way.
She always makes everything better!
Watching your parents get older and take on different roles is strange. And I’m sure it is just as strange for them. But they never stop using those magical powers to fix stuff, to call you out when you are acting crazy, and in the end just love you on good days and bad.
I’m so thankful for the chance to get to be the mom with magical powers for my kids. I’ll still complain about their horrible timing because regardless of the magical powers, I’m still only human!
Here’s to moms everywhere who perform magic shows for kid audiences of all ages day after day!
