Being a stay at home mom is a thankless job – don’t get me wrong, I LOVE the opportunity to be home with my two children and thank God every day that I have been given the chance to do so. However, if I said that life was always rosy and I loved to play kitties ten times a day (or watch Mickey’s Clubhouse repeatedly as I have been doing during the past four days) I would be lying through my teeth and you would know it… I once saw a segment on the Today show about how much a stay-at-home-mom (SAHM) would make if compensated monetarily for their position – as you can well imagine, it was a six-figure income! Now this will shock you, but the big killer was the amount of overtime mom’s put-in…HA! No kidding?!!! Really?!
So while I digress into sacarsm, I must admit that there are times when I am reminded how great it is that I am my children’s caretaker. Missy Moo was diagnosed with the croup and bronchitis earlier this week and let me tell you, it has been a rough one. When kiddos don’t feel well they must be velcroed to your person at all times and want you to know what it is they need before even they do…At which point, if I don’t know exactly what she wants or needs INSTANTLY, it is a full-blown drama that you would not believe (more dramatic than our typical meltdowns) which of course, would be fine if she were the only child in the house but Bubba Boo has needs, too; however, I again thank God for the Jumperoo and hope that he will not be language-delayed or severely emotionally-handicapped. Anyway, this afternoon I scooped Bubba Boo up off the floor and asked Missy Moo if we could sit with her on her “couch bed” which is a mini-bed in the living room that I have created for her while she is sick. Her sweet, sickly face broke a smile and said that yes, we could indeed bless her with our presence on the couch bed. She then proceeded to pretty forcefully push Bubba Boo’s hand off her leg as he DARED to brush it against her – touching her is a big no-no…At this point, I ask her if she thinks she will ever like her baby brother to which she replies, without missing one iota of a beat, “No.” Lovely…As I stew for a moment over what exactly to do to make her start to like her baby brother who absolutely adores her and lights up as soon as she enters the room, she sweetly looks at me, let’s out a refreshing sigh and says, “I love you, mommy.” Now this may not sound like a huge deal but Missy Moo has never initiated this phrase – she has said “I love you, too” but never out-of-the-blue said these words, so innocent, to me. Of course, my heart melted and I instantly forget my anger over the fact that she said she will never like her brother…I can handle it for at least one more day…These are the snapshots I force myself to remember when I open the refrigerator door and am pelted in the forehead with four sticks of butter at 6:30 a.m. I am not lying – this is how I started my day today. However, the little “I love you’s” and cuddles are my paycheck and the flying butter, well, that’s just one of the downsides…Don’t all jobs have them?
