Thursday, February 02, 2006

The Way Life is Supposed to Be

I used to watch a 1970s ahow called Leave It to Beaver when I was 8 years old. If you have seen the movie Pleasantville you will have experienced the same idea. Both showed how family life is supposed to be. Now I am almost 40 and I am glad that I watch Malcom in the Middle.

Between 8 and 40 I tried to understand why I couldn't read all those child rearing magazines without feeling a failure. Have you ever picked up a parenting magazine ? It told me what I was not so I stopped reading them. I became a mom by getting to know my kids.

I have 5 children (not 2.5 ) and they are in 2 bedrooms. I do like that all my children find their personal space without being reclusive. I do mind having only 1 bathroom.

The first time I walked into a friends home and found it messy and dusty it gave me a huge amount of comfort. We have stayed the best of friends (one I don't have to clean for).

Sometimes dinner is made by Pedro at the pizza delivery place and sometimes the dishes wait on the counter until morning to be washed. This means I get to chill out with my kids.

Often Dad tucks the girls into bed because mom gets grumpy when she is tired (anytime after 8pm). They get time with Dad and I get time on the couch.

As my sister Anne says "Life is life".

Life isn't supposed to be any certain way and that is a huge relief. I am free to make it more.

1 comment:

Eamonn Sullivan said...

I like this one!