Confessions of a Terrible Stay-at-Home Mom, Vol. 3
in Giggles on July 31, 2016
Tomorrow I will have a 15-year-old. Gasp. Choke. Cough. Gag. I can’t believe my oldest child is turning 15. Where did the time go? Honestly it really does seem like yesterday that I was freaking out about having to deliver my first baby.
Now I’m freaking out about taking my firstborn to get his learner’s permit. Y’all, that means he’s going to soon be on the road with the rest of us. Be afraid, be very, very afraid.
As frightening as all of that is, my concern over his driving capabilities is not what this post is about. I was going to lament over the fact that he is indeed turning 15, and if he’s getting older, then it stands to reason that I am getting older. Trust me when I tell you, I could easily spiral into my own crazy cycle of hysteria over my own age all day long.
But I won’t.
At least, not today.
No, today is about a different confession. I was rummaging around upstairs for some baby pictures to include in this post, and I came across Ethan’s baby book. I also found Emma’s, and safely tucked away…deep inside a bag…was Elliott’s. In fact, Elliott’s book was so safely stored, it was still in its original box.
I pulled out all three books, and laid them next to each other on the guest room bed. Ethan’s book was so full of pages and pictures that the binding was barely contained within the covers. Emma’s book closed quite comfortably…and poor Elliott, well, let’s just say, his book is my confession:
Evidently with the arrival of my third child, I completely lost/forgot the ability to take pictures.
Although, as I nostalgically flipped through the pages of the children’s books, it became more and more clear to me, that the skill of picture-taking was slowly and steadily being erased from my mental faculties with the appearance of Emma:
I didn’t even have enough snap to put hospital pictures in place! That green Post-It Note says, “Hospital Pictures.” As her first year progressed, I’m afraid my aptitude for marking milestones in her young life did not improve…
I’d like to think we did, in fact, celebrate Thanksgiving that year, but unfortunately I have no pictures to prove it. I had heard from other mothers that life with more than one child was hectic and crazed. And that while my intentions were good, and I thought I could do it all…my children’s pint-sized agendas would prove to be more than equal in strength and determination to my own plans. On most days, I must confess, especially in the early days, the children won those battles.
In my defense, I had SO MANY kids…in such a SHORT amount of time…I really should get some sort of medal for simply keeping them alive. It’s not like I have no pictures of Elliott as a baby…it’s just the pictures I do have of him are in boxes instead of his baby book.
Eventually I will get them in there. My new goal is to finish his book before he has children of his own. I think that is reasonable. OR perhaps his wife would enjoy doing this little project. Just kidding. Sort of.
So, tomorrow my oldest turns 15. Thankfully I gave up on scrapbooks years ago. I simply could not handle the pressure. I will try and grab a couple of pictures on my iPhone of the birthday boy. Then, in a couple of months, as my other two cross over into another year, I will grab some pictures of them as well…In the meantime, I will enjoy the teenagers I have roaming around my house and be thankful the infant and toddler years are behind me.
Every stage of parenting has been an adventure; each with its own trials, tribulations and joys. I love my kids. They are truly great kids, despite having me as a mother. They know I am imperfect. They know about most of my flaws…some they won’t find out about until they reach the legal drinking age.
Here’s some free advice for any of my “new mommy” readers, go easy on yourselves. We ALL had a vision of perfect parenting. Those visions are great…until…we actually have our children. Don’t be too hard yourselves. You are perfectly imperfect. Revel in that fact. You got this.
Here’s hoping your day is PERFECT!
Dallas
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