The first day back after a vacation is always hard. Nick forgot to take out the garbage and it seems to come early, so I set my alarm for earlier so I could tell him to take it out. Why can't he be the one to get up early when he forgets? Why does it have to be me?
And then I oh-so-nicely told him when I saw his bleary eyes that he needed to get it out to the road before they came and I wasn't sure exactly what time they came in the morning.
"Nope," he said. "I need to eat."
"So, if you miss it and garbage starts to pile up, you will end up losing video game time."
"How much time?"
"Until you've caught up with the backup of garbage." I paused. "It could be a week, maybe even two weeks until all that extra garbage is gone."
"That's not fair. You didn't remind me," he whined.
"It's perfectly fair. You've never said 'no' to doing it before and these are the consequences to 'no.'"
"But you didn't remind me."
"The reminder was a courtesy."
It took me a while, but I finally remembered telling him yesterday morning that it was also a recyclables week. I did remind him. I did. It sucks to be losing my ability to remember the details just when my boy is at his peak of mental acuity and is also a teenager. Did I ask for this? Did I?
Oh, right. I signed up for this mom thing. I did. I was one of those people who really wanted to be a mom. I did. I worked to become a mom when it wasn't apparent that I could. I had surgery so I could become a mom. So, why am I complaining now?
I'm complaining because I can. When I hear women say that they had an easy baby, I want to slap them. I do.
So if Nick hasn't been exactly easy, does it mean that he's not worth it? He's no less valuable than their mousy little kids who slept when you snapped your fingers and said, "Sleep." He is no stepford-child. He is interesting and powerful and smart. I swear to you that you'll see it some day. You will.
I see it most days. I'm not entirely sure I could see it this morning.
Thank you for listening, jules
And then I oh-so-nicely told him when I saw his bleary eyes that he needed to get it out to the road before they came and I wasn't sure exactly what time they came in the morning.
"Nope," he said. "I need to eat."
"So, if you miss it and garbage starts to pile up, you will end up losing video game time."
"How much time?"
"Until you've caught up with the backup of garbage." I paused. "It could be a week, maybe even two weeks until all that extra garbage is gone."
"That's not fair. You didn't remind me," he whined.
"It's perfectly fair. You've never said 'no' to doing it before and these are the consequences to 'no.'"
"But you didn't remind me."
"The reminder was a courtesy."
It took me a while, but I finally remembered telling him yesterday morning that it was also a recyclables week. I did remind him. I did. It sucks to be losing my ability to remember the details just when my boy is at his peak of mental acuity and is also a teenager. Did I ask for this? Did I?
Oh, right. I signed up for this mom thing. I did. I was one of those people who really wanted to be a mom. I did. I worked to become a mom when it wasn't apparent that I could. I had surgery so I could become a mom. So, why am I complaining now?
I'm complaining because I can. When I hear women say that they had an easy baby, I want to slap them. I do.
So if Nick hasn't been exactly easy, does it mean that he's not worth it? He's no less valuable than their mousy little kids who slept when you snapped your fingers and said, "Sleep." He is no stepford-child. He is interesting and powerful and smart. I swear to you that you'll see it some day. You will.
I see it most days. I'm not entirely sure I could see it this morning.
Thank you for listening, jules
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