I took half a dose of Nyquil last night because I am coming down with something. Chase woke up at 7 and I was feeling pretty good and didn't walk into any walls on my way to his room so I thought the affects had worn off. Apparently not. I brought Chase to bed with me and he was being all cuddly and still sleepy so we laid down in bed. I went to sleep with a sleeping little boy curled up in my arms and woke up to find said little boy covered in my Recital Red lipstick, my mom's white berber carpet covered in Recital Red lipstick, and my hair dryer in the toilet.
Oops.
All I could do was laugh because the Nyquil had dried up all my tears. The hair dryer was the biggest casuality, the carpet was a close second but carpet cleaners are a wonderful thing and it looks great.
So it got me thinking. This is not the first time I've had a parenting "uh oh." And it happens to all of us. Even so, in order to make me feel like I'm still a decent mom, I had to make a list of my mom wins.
WINS:
1. Chase does not like tv, while sometimes it would be nice to be able to blop him down in front of a tv, as of now I love that we have done a pretty good job of keeping him away from the boob tube (as my Gamma calls it).
2. Chase loves his veggies. So much so the other dad my dad gave him a piece of cookie and Chase chose to eat his green peas over the cookie. I almost wonder if something is wrong with him...
3. He hasn't used a pacifier since he was 4 or 5 months. Really that was his deal, not mine. For two days in a row he didn't take it so I took that opportunity to get rid of them so I didn't end up on a tv show because my kid is 6 with a pacifier. Nothing against pacifiers unless your child is six.
4. He signs well. I was skeptical of baby sign language and almost gave up because Chase didn't sign for the longest time. Although once he started he loves it. His favorite sign is "outside" and when he's mad he typically signs all of his signs at once because he doesn't know what he wants.
5. He likes old people (really likes their scooters and walkers). My grandparents are in an assissted living facility and he is so good with all the residents who want to come see him, not to mention all his great grandparents.
Mom "FAILS"
1. See above.
2. Have you ever given your child a sippy cup of milk in the morning and forgotten about it only to see your kid running through the house with it 6 hours later drinking spoilt milk? It happened to me. More than once.
3. Forgetting to buckle Chase in the stroller to have him slide out at the mall. I am only telling you this story because the mom I was with when it happened later did the same thing. She shall remain nameless. Both kids are fine. It's better than the high chair right?
4. Chase has had one episode so far where he was "that kid." It was at a little sewing store where the average age of the shopper the day I was in was about 65. They had a cute little playroom for the kids but Chase would run into the playroom, grab a throwable object, then throw it in the store, then scream bloody murder when I carried him.
5. I let him play with my phone once. Now he thinks everyone's phone is his toy. So while he doesn't like tv, he loves any electronic device or machine where you can push a button and make something happen. In order: vaccum, phone, computer, remote, dishwasher, and car keys.
It's so easy to judge kids when you don't have them, and it doesn't take long after you do have them to realize that there is no reason to judge others because you will envitably do something worse than what you judge them for. I heard the other day on the news that a "Judge Free Day" was declared for moms. Are we really that bad? Because this also holds true to life in general and not only is our judgement hurtful, it's also against our calling.
Proverbs 15:4 "The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit."
1 John 4:16 "God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them."
Be full of love this season.
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