 It is the question of every parent at the end of a long day. Here you are, spending time with the people you love the most – and you feel like a broken record barking orders, telling them, No, nit-picking them for everything they do, constantly nagging – and completely frustrated as you try to tend to their every whim.  In most families today, there is one person who handles the finances. Another who handles the yard work. One person who is most responsible for the kids. There might be another who plans meals and cooks, or a person in charge of keeping the house clean. But when it really comes down to it, who is the boss?  It’s everywhere. Mothers complaining on Facebook, at the ball fields, on Instagram, sitting around in tribes during PTO meetings, tweeting on Twitter, and commiserating with one another about how sick and darn tired they are of doing every little thing for their children.  One of the things that set women who knowingly become single parents versus those that become single mothers accidentally (through divorce or unprotected sex) is that the women choosing pregnancy alone are prepared.  The biggest difference between them (meaning my kids) and the folks at Wal-Mart or the check out girl at the fast food drive through is that I am not getting paid in any form of currency. Besides love of course! (And admittedly, even that is sometimes subjective to their behavior).  Being a mother! It’s one of the most amazing things in the world, right? It’s the job that keeps on giving – even though some of the gifts, like 3am puke infested wake-up calls, may be a little more than you expected.  Today’s parents are the ultimate over achievers. Our children are involved in more activities than ever before, many parents work grueling long hours in order to provide all the wants and desires of their families, and are stricken with a sense of guilt-induced parenting that we are still not doing enough for and with our children.  As if it isn’t bad enough to be driving a minivan around town, parents now feel compelled to paste stupid family stick figures stickers, or “Baby on Board” yield signs in the back window to advertise to the world that they have a family.  The rant of today’s parent is not something that most of us ever dreamed of prior to having children. We never thought we would turn into our own parents, never thought that we would have children who required hours upon hours (upon daily hours) of reminders to do the simple things in life.  Your little girl is not so little anymore. She has been on dates with boys and you are fairly certain that she has kissed a few. But have the romantic interludes stopped there?  When does a mother butting into her grown child’s business cross the line between unconditional love and pure nosiness? When is it appropriate to tell your mother to simply butt out of your business? Is it ever appropriate?  You might think that the people who would be most supportive of your healthy, well-mannered children would be your own parents or grandparents. But many people find out that Mom and Dad, often known, as Grandma and Grandpa (from both families) tend to be the most critical adversaries when it comes to your job as parent.  Your teenager storms out of the room and slams their bedroom door in complete disgust that you wont allow them to go to the party of the year (or are making them clean their room), you hear “I HATE YOU.”  Is motherhood REALLY THAT difficult? Or, are many moms trying to make it out to be difficult simply to gain sympathy and perhaps respect from the rest of the world for doing one of the most basic, and natural things on the planet, which is raising children?  One day we had the period talk! And from that point on, my period became public knowledge among my family. We would sit down to dinner and my girls would tell my husband that “mommy was on her period.” Like he didn’t know!?  So what is it about 50 Shades of Grey that is so enticing? Why are so many women reading it? Have YOU read it? If so, has it changed the quality of your sex life? Or do you feel that the book should be banned from the shelves and labeled as pornography?  The most dreaded question that can be asked of me on any given day is, “Mom!! What’s for dinner?” I literally shudder when my I hear my daughters’ loud, squeaky voices shout this inquiry out.  Few of us ever truly realize just how much time and effort and energy goes into raising children until we have them. And by the time we do, not only is it far too late to back out of the deal, but we are also too tired to think of ways to give ourselves a break.  Up until a few years ago, I was able to tone down the insane by simply pulling out baby pictures and remembering how freaking cute my kids were ‘back in the day.’ Don’t get me wrong, they’re still kind of cute, but they have completely broken me from any feelings of ‘baby madness.’
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