Monday, March 5, 2007

Cool Moms

I’ve been writing a lot lately about my children, and from reading my own blog, I sound like a stellar parent. I get comments to this effect. Why, just yesterday Jen commented that I sound like such a “cool mom.” This makes me feel good about myself, but let’s be honest: motherhood is a tough job, and the minute I start to feel smug about the job I’m doing, my children put me back in my place. Was it last week or two weeks ago that we were sick? I can’t remember, but somewhere in the middle of the cooped up chaos, my children built a pretend condo. (Couch-cushion forts right next door to each other, or, as they say, “each others.”) Having gotten somewhere between three and four hours of sleep the night before, I was just grateful nobody was asking anything of me. Never mind that I’d snapped at both of them over breakfast. (“No, you cannot have two eggs over-easy today. You can have a bowl of cereal.”) Anyway, they were happily pretending in their condo, and I heard this snippet of conversation:

Twin A: Let’s pretend our Mom dies.
Twin B: Yeah! Let’s pretend she’s living in heaven instead of this house!
Twin A: And we never have to clean up our forts because our Mom is dead!
Twin B: Yeah. And we never have to make our beds or get dressed either!

The conversation went on, but you get the idea. In their five-year old minds, having me gone would fix so many of their problems. Maybe you had to actually hear the conversation, but they sounded so cheerful about the prospect of me being out of the picture. Not exactly “cool mom” status, ay?

8 comments:

Craver Vii said...

Hilarious! Yeah, you're still a cool mom.

spaghettipie said...

Oh, dear. I don't look forward to when my daughter talks about me being dead...

But I must say, not only do I think you're a pretty cool sounding mom, but I was just thinking this weekend that I wished you lived closer because I think you sound like someone I would enjoy hanging out with.

Llama Momma said...

spaghetti pie -- aw, shucks. And the death thing is a definite "phase." They're constantly asking about when things will die and what will happen when they die..."why do we bury the bones of people in the ground but not bugs and birds?" The questions get very interesting. My current response (after answering a reasonable number of questions) is: "God wants us to focus on living, not dying."

Lara said...

Just this morning at breakfast my girls were talking about how Grandma lets them drink juice at lunch and Grandma gives them two treats for a snack instead of just one.

On the other hand, I actually asked them before school today whether I was a "cool mom" or not. The answer? "Yes"! When I asked why they said because I do crafts. So Llama Momma, in my girls' books you're considered "cool".

Martin Stickland said...

Nice story but why did I automatically laugh out loud when I read their conversation and then say "Oh dear!"

It sounds like the type of conversation our boys would have.

Bye for now!

PS Craver is going to love you!

Craver Vii said...

Yeah, you can definitely count Craver as a fan. I just remembered something...

Years ago, somebody at my lunch table talked about analyzing your children's drawings. Ask, better yet, have somebody else ask your boys to draw a picture of their family.

My daughter drew me with humongous, hairy forearms. We decided that it means that I am strong enough to carry her, and she feels security in daddy's arms.

Warning signs, watch out for flames or blood. Those are usually not good, but keep in mind that some boys can't draw ANY picture without them.

Anonymous said...

Hey-
Revel in your "coolness" while it lasts! Too soon they are in middle and high school and your "cool rating" definately drops!
-Frazzmom

Llama Momma said...

Thanks for the support! Yeah, Frazzmom, I hear you. Today I'm cool because I bought "Go, Diego, Go" yogurt. Seriously. :-)