May Mayhem…In Celebration Of Motherhood!

Parenting drama (trauma??!!) aside for the moment, I’m relieved to have the chance to pass off the reins tonight & let someone else amuse you with their own parenting journey! As the calendar turns to May, many of us turn our thoughts to Mother’s Day, & with four kids of my own, I know the struggles of motherhood first hand. This is why it was important to me to embark upon May Mayhem, in celebration of motherhood & all of the incredible woman out there who go unnoticed &, often, unappreciated, for the tremendous sacrifices, backbreaking labour, & unconditional love they bestow upon their families day in & day out. This month Crazy Town will be welcoming several guest posts, some by other established bloggers I’ve come to know & love, some from long time, dear friends, who definitely have their own valuable stories to share. Each & every one of them a Supermom in their own right! So with no further ado, I’d like to introduce Pamela, from My Life As A Libra. I’ve been fortunate enough to have followed her from her very first post, & have enjoyed every moment of her humorous, honest, & often touching journey as a first-time Mom to a real character of a little boy. She takes me back to my own days when it was just me & my boy, & all the fear, guilt, doubt, & joy that went along with it. Pamela, it does get easier! But in the meantime, I love what you have to say, & am thrilled to have you honour us with your mothering perspective. Thank you for being a supporter of Crazy Town, an entertaining writer, & a real friend! I encourage all of you to tune in to her blog….I have to admit, I’m jealous as hell of this chick’s ability to turn household appliances in to freebie babysitting….

Some Mother’s Day Musings & Other Disjointed Ramblings!

Right off the bat I must confess – Mother’s Day fills me with dread. You see, I’m a procrastinator and with my own Mom living 2,000 km away, every year is a mad scramble for something in attempt to redeem the years of hell we put her through. And as anyone shopping for parents knows, that’s no easy task. Overwhelmed by the pressure, I usually crap out with a gift card or some other predictable gift. So Mom, if you’re reading this, I apologize in advance for the lame present you’ll likely get. If I was on Twitter right now I’d say #isuck!

As bizarre as it might sound I also dread Mother’s Day, because I am forced to realize that I am someone’s mother, which, don’t get me wrong, is a wonderful thing. But I can’t help sometimes feeling like I’m losing myself in this crazy vortex called Motherhood.

Last year on Mother’s Day I went to the mall for my annual mani/pedi (the one time a year I don’t feel guilty about getting my nails did, y’all). Afterwards, I browsed the shops, and ended up in a shoe store (not a huge shock to anyone who knows me!). Surprisingly, I didn’t find anything I liked. Probably since May is between seasons and nothing seemed suitable – Whoa – hold up! Suddenly I’m concerned about sensible footwear? When did this happen? Anyway, as I was leaving the store, one of the clerks called out “Have a Happy Mother’s Day, m’am!” I whipped my head around in search of an older-looking woman, or someone with a kid or two in tow. But, no. I was the only one in the store.

It’s bad enough when people start calling you m’am, but how did she know I was a mother? I had cute skinny jeans and ballet flats on – it wasn’t like I’d rolled out of bed & threw on a pair of yoga pants!. (I do do that, just not on that particular day). She could have just been wishing everyone a Happy Mother’s Day and besides, I AM a Mom, but still…

There was a time when I never thought I’d be celebrating Mother’s Day. Hubby and I had been together seven years before we gave the slightest thought of having kids. Ok, not completely true. We thought about how much better it would be living a fun-filled, carefree life without the nuisance of snot-nosed little buggers running around. I grew up with younger brothers and cousins and didn’t hate kids (well not always), but I figured the less responsibility I had, the better off I’d be.

Then, a couple of years into my 30’s, things shifted. Before, I’d never believed other women who talked about their “biological clocks” ticking. I thought once you made a decision not to have kids that was that. But that’s obviously not the case. Almost overnight, I awoke one day with the strongest desire to procreate. And my husband, being the easy-going type, thankfully went along with my change of heart.

And as much as I totally love this new life, I’ll admit, sometimes being called a Mother does freak me out! Yes, it’s been four years now, and I like to think I’m doing a fairly decent job. I just never prepared myself mentally for Motherhood. It sounds so grown-up and serious and *gulp*…Old!

Like a lot women I’ve been meeting in the blogosphere lately, I’m an unconventional mom. I listen to indie rock music, sometimes very loudly, quote Hunter S. Thompson on a regular basis and loathe chick flicks. I sang Leonard Cohen songs while rocking my baby to sleep. (with modified lyrics – Chelsea Hotel No. 2’s “Giving me you-know-what on the unmade bed” instead became “Shaking my head while I baked you some bread”. I know he couldn’t understand yet, but that mother’s guilt kicks in right away!).

Also, I’m rebellious by nature. You’ll never catch me calling my husband DH, or my son DS; I just can’t bring myself to do it. Then again (and totally off-topic) I also rejected the whole Starbucks lingo at first, but now order my tall, non-fat half-sweet chai tea latte with all the other brainwashed, caffeine-addicted Starbuckians. Besides, there was only so much ‘tude I could put up with from those baristas. “Don’t you mean a Grande Latte?” they’d ask each time I’d stubbornly insist on a large coffee with mostly milk. I put up a good fight but in the end, they broke me.

And, speaking of things I thought I’d never do, I also promised myself I’d never let my kid watch all those annoying children’s programs that run 24/7. I decided that one day while visiting friends with two little boys. The boys sat and stared at that station for the duration of our visit. But that wasn’t what convinced me to ban kids’ shows from my television. No, it was when I heard my friend singing along, not only to the theme songs of those blasted shows, but to a whole slew of  numbers sung by bizarre creatures I later learned were called Backyardigans.

How many times had she been subjected to the same episode over and over, I wondered. But even more alarming to me was, what happened to her “coolness”? I was six months pregnant at the time and completely horrified by my friend’s transformation into motherhood. And I swore it wouldn’t happen to me. Little did I know how heavily I’d come to rely on that damn station. If not for Treehouse, we’d have gone hungry on many a night, because if it isn’t the TV doing the entertaining, it’s Mama and Mama got lots to take care of!

So, yes, my little boy loves that irritating turtle, Franklin and whiny Caillou, but I’m okay with it and do you know why? The other day while I was cleaning up the kitchen and listening to the Pixies, he started bobbing his head and singing along. And although I didn’t have the heart to tell him the name of the song is Bone Machine and not Big Mushy, you can’t imagine how proud I was!

Anyay, I’m not totally sure where I was going with this post, but when I sat down to write about Mother’s Day, this is what spurted out. So, whether you love or hate being called Mother, enjoy the day because you so totally deserve it!!

Signed, Pamela!  My Life As A Libra….

OMG, I totally agree, Caillou IS a whiny little brat! And I want to punch people who call me Ma’am….who the frik are they talking too??!!  I admit, I giggled the whole way through this post. I’ve come to realize that I may have taken such a shine to Pamela from the start because we are both dual signs…there are only 3 of them in the zodiac, Libra, Pisces, & Gemini.  I attribute my own split personality & constant, insane inner monologue…you know, the voices….to the fact that I’m a Pisces.  I also note in my own “Gemini twins”, The Boy & The Diva, born two days apart in June, this same dual nature, & a unique bond between them. Whatever the reason, now you know firsthand that Pamela rocks & is totally worthy of your readership! Happy Mother’s Day to you as well Pamela, & thank you so much for sharing with all of us, it was my privelige to have you as the first ever guest here in Crazy Town!!

Signed,

The Mayor!

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Tagged as: bloggers, celebration, guest posts, Leonard Cohen, May Mayhem, Mother's Day, My Life As A Libra, Pisces, Starbucks, Treehouse, zodiac