I was talking with a friend of mine recently about the “type” of Mom I am. Judging by the pause in our conversation and the change in his tone of voice, he had no idea what I was referring to when I breached the subject of “mom-type.” He also isn’t a mom [find more out about his work here], but that’s a minor detail.
After I was done giving my lengthy explanation of the kind of Mom I am, why I have a tendency to compare myself to other mom types, etc., he simply said, “Go with what you know, sister.” Go with what you know. Do you get where I’m going with this?!
I’m not the crafty Mom, putting together themed art projects based on the time of year, bringing out the playdough or slime, or paint and glue. There’s a reason my children love the paint station at preschool- we rarely do it at home.
I’m not the Mom who can run errands [happily] with her kids. I’m looking at YOU Kelly! Guys, I get anxious just going through the McDonald’s drive-through or CVS drive-through with my crew. Taking them to Costco or Kroger? No way, Jose!
Gosh I can’t believe I’m admitting this… but reading? Oi vey. I’m usually asleep before the kids are when it comes to reading my children books at night. I have tried switching the amount of books and time of day we read them. That’s helped!
Yes, I LOVE to cook. But cooking for a toddlers, preschoolers, and a kindergartener? You might as well ask if I like speaking 4 different languages to someone who lost their hearing. It’s really hard! And opinionated. And messy. And there’s quite a bit of food waste.
But every so often I get a dinner-win and I try to share that with you. Because I know you’re feeding your kids as often as I am, and are looking for those meals of hope! [You know the Kelly I mentioned above?! She’s been helping to inspire mealtime in our house- learn more about the method to her mealtime madness here].
I AM that Mom that loves to pick her kids up from school, go straight to the park, bring out the soccer ball or tennis racquet, and start a game. Why? I’m fairly active, I’ve always been a competitor, and I love being a part of a team. My team just happens to be younger and smaller now. And a little less coordinated, but we sure do have fun kicking the ball around [and chasing Michael so he doesn’t run into the street- why do toddlers love doing that?!].
While there are plenty of other “types” or “niches” out there, these are the few I most often find myself doing the comparison game with. In fact, it’s taken me a while to find my Mom type. To accept myself as-is. And not try to be the I can do everything Mom. Because when I tried doing it all and being everything to my kids, I lost sight of myself and became really, really unhappy. In turn, that made them unhappy too.
So let’s make a pack: You bring your kids to my backyard soccer games, and I’ll let you decorate sugar cookies with mine. I’ll even throw in an extra baby wipe or hand vacuum. You’re going to need it!
How about you? Which mom type would you identify with?
