If You Say “Mom” One More Time…
I love being a mom, but some days, I just cannot hear “Mom!” one more time. In my head, I hear Stewie Griffin, the baby from the animated show Family Guy, chanting “Mom” on repeat. It makes me cringe.
Hilariously, Dad is sometimes standing two feet away, but alas, the request for juice, a snack, help with the potty, a piece of paper, some tape, a straw …. all goes to Mom. Dad helps a ton, but for whatever reason, the never-ending list of demands is a Mom-thing.
Wrangling the Requests
Especially in the morning, when the house is chaotic with everyone getting ready for school, packing lunches, and buzzing around the kitchen, the requests can become overwhelming. Or later in the evening, during dinner prep and homework time, the requests seem to keep flying out, in a nerf-gun-like cadence. Pop. Pop. Pop. Sometimes, I just have to say: No More Requests.
I have to remind my kids that I’m still working on the last ask and that I can’t do more than two things at once. Making a sandwich and cutting out a superhero picture for you don’t exactly work simultaneously!
Patience Please
I am also working on teaching patience, mostly to my four-year-old, who has very little. I ask him to wait a minute or to let me finish what I’m doing. Last week he told me, “I just have two requests: a juice please and the tv on.” I had to laugh because I appreciate him limiting the requests but also felt like he was tempering down his needs to me so that I knew not to expect any more. He’s a funny kid, and maybe my patience training is working just a tad!
Mommy Moments
Time is fleeting – so I remind myself it won’t be long before the tiny voices are long gone and my kids won’t need me quite as much any more. These Mommy moments will be behind us in just a few short years. I’ll try to take a deep breath and have my own sense of patience the next time I hear, “mom. Mom. MOM!”