Things I forgot to remind Darren to do:
take out the garbage
install car seat base in Mini
Things Darren forgot to do:
take out the garbage
install car seat base in Mini
This got me thinking and while normally I would put a filter on this or not write about it at all yesterday was such an ass-sucking day that I'm going to air some grievances and deal with any possible fallout later.
You see, many may have this vision of the SAHM (that's "stay-at-home mom" for the uninitiated) as a woman who gets to do fun things with a cute and happy baby all day long. A baby who slips easily and peacefully into naps a few times during the day without too much fuss or bother. A baby who wakes from said naps with a smile and a "let me sit quietly and entertain myself while you eat bon bons and watch Oprah" attitude. Forget about laundry and household chores. Those are completed by magic.
This is not how it works.
There are good days with baby, don't get me wrong. And on those days I will happily drive downtown in traffic to pick up my husband from work. Sometimes we'll stop in the Pearl and buy a little something for the youngster in the back we brought into this world. A little thank you gift from mom and pops for being such a tremendously cute and good baby.
But there are also challenging days with baby. And on those days nothing makes baby happy. Not magical boobs, which in the early days could solve pretty much every problem and always could steer baby from a state of wakefulness to sleep. (Ah, the sweet sleep of a newborn.) Not getting on the floor to play with baby, which may work for a minute or two before baby figures out the underlying problem has not been dealt with and reverts to unhappy baby mode. Not wearing baby in the sling. Not placing baby in the exersaucer. Not surrounding baby with toys. Not dancing with baby. Not walking with baby in stroller, an act which can start out okay but turn ugly when you are ten blocks from home and unhappy baby has decided he no longer cares to stroller around the neighborhood.
On these days, my poor husband comes home to bitchy wife who wants nothing more than to be separated from unhappy baby. A short-tempered, angry wife who shoves unhappy baby at him with a quick "You deal with this." An unhappy wife who wants to disappear into a steaming hot bath for an hour but will settle for five minutes as long as she doesn't have to hear the unhappy baby crying through the walls. An unhappy wife ... [ed. who apparently can't gather her thoughts enough to finish the post]
2 comments:
Brilliant blast front the past! How quickly we forget. And don't forget. With a bit of tweaking this could echo how I feel nearly every other day. No infants, just a kindergartner and a preschooler who can bring me to the same level sometimes.
I forgot about the term "Magical Boobs". Don't you miss those? Sometimes I still want to whip good ol' lefty out when someone has a super huge bonk.
I too love the term Magical Boobs . . . magical they are . . . or can be, sometimes. I think the best companion to a SAHM is a husband who understands those days. Mine happen more often with my three year old than baby, but they still happen. And then like you . . . I say welcome home - I'm out! And he completely understand. Thank goodness.
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