A lot of being a toddler mama is constantly on the move. Just when you think you can take a break and sit, you have to get up and keep going. It isn’t always directly related to the kids. It’s all the little things like switching the laundry, loading the dishwasher, or running errands. Sometimes it’s kid related, like all the kid-related activities we sign them up for to keep them busy.
Every extracurricular I’ve signed the boys up for has required my participation as well. From a little ninja warriors class to swimming to gymnastics, I’ve been required to participate in all the activities. I had a thought the other day: Why am I paying someone else to watch me play with my kid?
Some days when I take J to his weekly gymnastics class, I wish his teacher would just take over and chase after him for 45 minutes. Any mom will tell you that as soon as you open your eyes, the stopwatch starts on your day, and you are racing against the clock to get everything done and make it to bedtime. Bedtime is the finish line. It is the pot of gold at the end of the get-through-the-day rainbow.
Until bedtime, we do our best to keep the kids busy and learning, so they don’t fall behind developmentally AND burn any pent-up energy they may have. Lord, it is tiring. There are some days when I barely make it to bedtime myself. I’m on my feet so much that lying in C’s twin-sized bed under his weighted blanket is the most comfortable place in the world.
In my twenties, I worked as a restaurant hostess in New York. During the month of March, I also freelanced at CBS Sports. There were some days when I’d be at the CBS studios on 57th Street until almost 2 AM, just to turn around and head to the restaurant for my 6:30 AM opening shift at the restaurant. Even then, I’ve never felt as tired as I do now that I’m a mom. I don’t know if it’s because I’m older now or because parenting is a constant, daily grind where I don’t get enough sleep most nights.
That’s why, now more than ever, I wish there was just one of these programs where I didn’t have to chase after my kid. I look around at some of the moms — and grandmothers — at J’s gym class, and I see the exhaustion on their faces. There is one mom who, God love her, chases after her three-year-old daughter while her six-month-old sleeps in a car seat in the corner.
Everyone talks about “the hustle” and “the grind” when it comes to work and success. There is no greater hustle and grind than motherhood — dads get some credit too, but it’s a little bit different. So, yea, sometimes I want to be lazy. Sometimes I want to pay someone else to play with my kid while I read a book, zone out on my phone, or — God forbid — nap! Since that won’t be happening, you can find me chasing after J as he bounces down a trampoline or crawls under a tunnel. Maybe you’ll see me walking across a balance beam with C on my back because he uses me as his own personal litter since I have to participate. No rest for the extremely weary!
The Saucy Mama 