Things I Have Learned About Being a Mom

In honor of the upcoming mothers day thing... well... I have been thinking about my mom. Some of the things she did when I was a child make sense now.

One of the ones I remember was that I was an avid car door slammer. I slammed that door shut with gleeful force as soon as I jumped out of the car.  My mom kept telling me to stop it, but I did it anyways. I kept on doing it. Often before mom could even open her door!  So, one day my mom has me sit in the drivers seat, and she slammed that passenger door! She slammed it with what I now can identify as the force of a thousand angry door slammings. All the pent up frustration of having me slam that door shut and wow. That hit home. OWW! My ears hurt from the air pressure and the loud noise that was MUCH louder in the car!   I don't think I slammed another car door, and to this day I only slam the door when I am pissed off at the person sitting in the other seat and never with my Liam in the car.

She finally realized that she needed to show me WHY not to do something, because clearly saying not to slam it was not working.

While I can not implement this technique with Liam just yet, it is one that I will hold in my memory for those times.

But, onward to the things I have learned so far... in the Almost a Year that my son has been with me.

- Keep your deodorant somewhere you have constant access to. By the time you realize you forgot to put it on that morning you are too busy to go back upstairs to grab it. Same goes for a toothbrush.

- You can use your feet to do many things. Upright a tipped over trash can, move a lazy cat, herd laundry down the hallways, nudge toys out of the way as you navigate the living room. Because you know you can't use your hands, they are full of Baby!

- Everything is washable, even the unwashable stuff. If it grosses you out enough, you can figure out a way to wash EVERYTHING.

- Just because the baby isn't reaching with his hands does not mean he is not reaching. That little mouth has great aim.

- Baby wipes do more than wipe bums. They clean desks, wipe noses, clean fingers and are really good at getting most things off of the walls. Also, they are really fun to pull out of the bags. You will find many of them wasted as soon as that adorable child figures out how to pull on them.

- Never before have you been able to see the staple that is wedged in between the boards for your hardwood floors. But now, when you look across the floor it stands out like it was in the spot light.

- If its sharp, pointy, dangerous or a choking hazard, it is INFINITELY more fun than anything safe.

- that moms have this extra reservoir of energy and time that can be tapped in times of need. Like when there isn't a single clean dish in the house, the baby has a full diaper and is bored, tired and teething and you HAVE to eat something besides cheerios stolen from the highchair and oh yea it's trash night. Somehow you get it all done and everyone is happy in the end as the dishes dry and you sit down to a semi- balanced meal with a nice clean baby who is now cooing instead of crying.

- even when they are covered in dirt, drool and boogers, that is the most beautiful child in the world when they look at you and smile.

- and the last thing I have learned so far about being a mom... treasure them when they are awake, but sing praises QUIETLY when they go to bed and rejoice in time that is just for you.