Johnson & Johnson commercials lead newmoms to believe that we will just adore every single thing our little miraclesdo. Ask a new mom how much she cherished cleaning a diaper explosion in the middle of the night only to have her precious son pee all over her in the process. I'd love to see a formula commercial where the husband and wife lovingly gaze into the face of their sleeping angel as the husband gushes, "Honey, do you remember the time Little Johnny projectile puked all over the new sofa?" And she smiles as she recalls the stain that never came out as well as the soured formula smell that still wafts out of the side cushion. It would never happen because some things about infancy are just miserable. Then babies morph into stubborntoddlers, and from there it just gets downright scary. It’s so easy to love thecuddly child who hugs me and tells me how cute I am. It’s more work to behavelovingly toward the same child who uses straws as drum sticks to pound out atune on my rear end as I’m ordering lunch at the Chic-Fil-A counter.
My daughter can be the most caring, precious child thereever was, but when her mood changes, well let’s just say we all hunker down with pillows over our heads and wait for the tornado to pass. Sometimes I think she has anevil twin, and we just never see the two girls at the same time. Every mom hasto deal with times when our little ones are completely unlikeable.
It took a stranger to remind me that even in the most uglymoments of childhood, our kids never stop being precious to us. He was next tous at the soda fountain when my oldest tried to get a caffeinateddrink without my blessing. When my child begged and said he didn’t understandwhy he couldn’t have it, my quick, frustrated explanation was, “because I don’t likeyou when you’re hyped up on caffeine.” The man gave us a look that was bothamused by my response but somewhat disturbed. I quickly amended my statementand told my son, “I love you all the time, but I don’t enjoy your presence oncaffeine.” While he knows nothing he does will ever quash my love for him, hisbehavior doesn’t always delight me.
On the other hand, when you’ve struggled to get a child to learna new skill until you’re both quite frustrated, and he suddenly GETS it, thepride that floods a mama’s heart is immeasurable. The child who screams at youfor taking off her training wheels when she falls off her two-wheeler willeagerly show off her new skills when she sees your excitement as you run alongside her, encouraging her and bolstering her confidence.
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