Am I just lucky, or are all children born with a radar system that tells them when Mommy is not available? Mia and I had just finished our workout this morning, Alexandra was down for a nap & Mia was happily looking at her books when I decided I’d try to get a little work done. I’m not even kidding – the MINUTE I picked up the phone Mia decided that she needed something to eat or she was just going to DIE! So, I got her a few apple slices and a drink, got her situated & sat back down to work. I had no sooner gotten on the phone with the office when Alexandra starts crying, and I’m not talking about the little whimper that says “I’m awake Mom” – I’m talking full-blown someone-poked-me-with-a-pin hysteria. Of course, I told the person on the phone that I would call back later & ran upstairs to find Alexandra lying in her bed pulling her own hair & screaming hysterically. As soon as I got her fingers untangled from her tender little baby hair she quit crying & after a few minutes I managed to get her back to sleep. PHEW!! “Okay” I thought, “NOW I’ll get downstairs & get some things done.” Riiiiight.
I sat down at the computer, had just gotten “in the groove” writing an article which was already very late, when I heard these little feet sneaking up behind me. I ignored them and kept on writing – I mean, I just HAD to get this done!! Pretty soon, I felt little hands pulling a three-year-old body up on my lap. “Fine,” I thought, “I can type with Mia on my lap – no big deal, I’ve just got to finish this page.” But of course, Mia has to sit with her head right in front of mine, effectively blocking my view of the keyboard, the bottom of the screen, or anything really useful for that matter. After trying repeatedly to resituate her so that I could actually see what I was doing I totally lost my cool when she started “typing” with me. All of a sudden little aowihehaej a;lk iht words started appearing in my perfectly crafted article. “MIA!” I shouted, “What are you DOING?! Why can’t you go play for five minutes?!”
Denim blue eyes framed with long black lashes looked back at me with a mixture of shock, fear and hurt. “Mommy, I just want to be like you.” Ouch.
The article can wait. Today we’re blowing bubbles.
Six married men will be dropped on an island with one car and 3 kids each for six weeks. Each kid will play two sports and take either music or dance classes. There is no fast food.Each man must take care of his 3 kids; keep his assigned house clean, correct all homework, complete science projects, cook, do laundry, and pay a list of ‘pretend’ bills with not enough money
I’ve talked with a lot of women who speak of my “old world” (the corporate rat-race) with a sort of romanticized terror – they love the idea, but are terrified of the hard, cold reality that life entails. For me, that love/fear combination perfectly fits my thoughts about turning into a house wife and stay at home mom. Something I dreamed about but would wake me up in a cold sweat. I mean, talk about NO CONTROL!!!! However, I’ve noticed that since I started applying a new philosophy in my life (focusing on health and LONGEVITY rather than my typical “I need results TODAY – no matter what!”), I have put aside some of my insecurities & related stress…and life is more fun, and easier….so far. But there’s one thing that’s for sure, I have managed to stay challenged
About Monica Cardone