What is this Thing called Motherhood?
My early school years are characterized by a series of papers, single page, handwritten, name and date on the upper right-hand corner, on “What Freedom Means to Me,” “What America Means to Me,” “What Family Means to Me,” and so on. Somewhere, deep in the garage live these jewels that have, what was then, absolutely the final word on all of these topics. Now, I don’t know what any of that stuff means, except for one big topic. Being a Mom. I do know what that means.
I owe the understanding of this mystery to my daughter, Catherine, who gave me the answer in a single blow one morning. The details of this particular experience will be different for every person of course, but I’m betting every Mom in the world will identify with the story I’m about to tell.
Here’s what happened: One night I had to work late, and my Mom volunteered to take Catherine, then three years old to the zoo. By the time I got home she was asleep, so I kissed her goodnight and went to bed myself. Back then, Dave worked early, so he was long gone the following morning when the bedroom door softly opened and gentle footsteps approached the bed. I creaked a weary eye open. It was worth the effort. Catherine was smiling up at me in her pretty new nighty with huge blue eyes and gorgeous sleep-tousled curls falling over her shoulders. She gave me a kiss and whispered softly, “I’ll let you sleep in Mommy.”
Mmmmmmmmmmmm, I drifted away on happy, sleepy waves. What a girl I had! -- loving, beautiful, kind, intelligent and so considerate. What a terrific mother I must be to raise such a gifted...such an emotionally well balanced...and so pretty...I must be better looking than I think, or she would never have turned out...,
WHAM!!! banged the door as a weight crashed onto my chest. WHOOP!! WHOOP!!! WHOOP! Sirens screamed all around me. “AAAAAAAA!!!!” I yelled. A white tiger was one inch from my face! Sparks were shooting all around me. The sirens kept screaming. “RRRROOOOOOAAAARRRRRR!!!!” went the tiger.
After I got my heart re-started, and had found my eyeballs and put them back into their sockets, I was able to see that the world hadn’t ended (although Catherine’s was about to). Unbeknownst to me, Mom (probably taking revenge for something awful I had done when I was little), had bought Catherine a few souvenirs at the zoo. To wit: one tiger mask and a combination flashlight/siren that also shot out sparks in red, green and gold.
And that my friends, is what motherhood is --- one part pure bliss, three parts sheer terror.
I owe the understanding of this mystery to my daughter, Catherine, who gave me the answer in a single blow one morning. The details of this particular experience will be different for every person of course, but I’m betting every Mom in the world will identify with the story I’m about to tell.
Here’s what happened: One night I had to work late, and my Mom volunteered to take Catherine, then three years old to the zoo. By the time I got home she was asleep, so I kissed her goodnight and went to bed myself. Back then, Dave worked early, so he was long gone the following morning when the bedroom door softly opened and gentle footsteps approached the bed. I creaked a weary eye open. It was worth the effort. Catherine was smiling up at me in her pretty new nighty with huge blue eyes and gorgeous sleep-tousled curls falling over her shoulders. She gave me a kiss and whispered softly, “I’ll let you sleep in Mommy.”
Mmmmmmmmmmmm, I drifted away on happy, sleepy waves. What a girl I had! -- loving, beautiful, kind, intelligent and so considerate. What a terrific mother I must be to raise such a gifted...such an emotionally well balanced...and so pretty...I must be better looking than I think, or she would never have turned out...,
WHAM!!! banged the door as a weight crashed onto my chest. WHOOP!! WHOOP!!! WHOOP! Sirens screamed all around me. “AAAAAAAA!!!!” I yelled. A white tiger was one inch from my face! Sparks were shooting all around me. The sirens kept screaming. “RRRROOOOOOAAAARRRRRR!!!!” went the tiger.
After I got my heart re-started, and had found my eyeballs and put them back into their sockets, I was able to see that the world hadn’t ended (although Catherine’s was about to). Unbeknownst to me, Mom (probably taking revenge for something awful I had done when I was little), had bought Catherine a few souvenirs at the zoo. To wit: one tiger mask and a combination flashlight/siren that also shot out sparks in red, green and gold.
And that my friends, is what motherhood is --- one part pure bliss, three parts sheer terror.