Random Thoughts on Mommyhood
It’s not always about problems, motherhood is actually a lot of fun. You get to relive your own childhood with toys and cartoons. You get to introduce that child to the wonders of the world – bubbles, ice cream, cheesy fries, and as they grow older, music
WHEN does one actually stop being a mom? From what I see in my own mother, well, never. My siblings and I are all grown up and raising our own families, but Mama would still pop into our family group chat to ask whether we have had lunch and to remind us to take our vitamins.
You see, once we give birth to our babies, we are responsible for them for the rest of their lives. Scary, especially as we are really just pretending to be grown-ups ourselves. Plus, babies don’t come with a manual, so you have to
gure out everything on your own. en, when you have gured out one thing, such as getting them potty-trained or being able to sleep through the night, they will throw another challenge your way, maybe chickenpox, last-minute UN Day costumes, or gasp—the
rst heartbreak. I’ve lost count of the number of times I stormed the heavens to beat the closing time of a school supplies store because I need to buy popsicle sticks or green cartolina, for an assignment that was given two weeks ago.
Motherhood is a journey, and it can be on a bumpy road until you learn to put up a reminder board on your refrigerator door.
If you want to have an extra challenge, try raising a picky eater. One boy went through a phase when all he would eat was either egg or nuggets. He would eat pasta, provided there was no sauce on it. One day, he tried spaghetti with a little sauce on it, and discovered that it wasn’t bad after all. at incident thankfully gave him the con dence to eat other foods, which I make sure to serve variety of. I am proud to say that he has developed a healthy appetite and is this close to eating us out of house and home. His brothers call him
e Vortex, because we ae sure that there will be no leftovers when he is around. My advice in connection with this, is that motherhood should come with role modeling for healthy eating.
ey really just learn to feel (and eat) their way through the world by copying you.
As a mother of four boys, I also served the roles of referee and nurse. I would be working on my computer and one guy would come to me holding his arm because someone bit him. One boy stuck his nger inside the electric fan’s grills, “to see if he can stop the blades from spinning”. e scar is on his nger still and he thinks it is cool.
You learn to be vigilant. When they are too quiet, you know something is up and you need to immediately account for their whereabouts. When they start cooperating, you need to be extra wary. I have only recently learned that when I was out for work, they would slide down the stairs using a mattress as a toboggan. One must build a strong, prayerful relationship with their guardian angels.
It’s not always about problems, motherhood is actually a lot of fun. You get to relive your own childhood with toys and cartoons. You get to introduce that child to the wonders of the world – bubbles, ice cream, cheesy fries, and as they grow older, music by your favorite boy band. One of my proud parenting moments consists of a videoke duet with one of my kids to the Backstreet Boys hit “I Want It at Way” at a barangay perya. ey get away with a lot of things, mostly because I am the instigator. Like Regina George’s mother in Mean Girls said, “I’m not a regular mom, I’m a cool mom.” But all in all, they are pretty good boys. Our home is built on hugs.
What do you want for Mother’s Day, my kids would ask each year. Yes, this may be the opportunity for payback for the stretchmarks, wrinkles, and sleepless nights and I can ask them for things I want, like airconditioning. Yet, each year, my answer is the same. I just want them to continue being the best sons a mom can wish for.