One of the great things about being a Mom is all the funny experiences that weave their way into oft-told tales for years to come. We were with friends tonight and one of them reminded me of this story. She said she's been waiting for it to appear on my blog -- so Lori, Happy Mother's Day.
Basking in the glow of motherhood
Charlie was probably about 2 months old. Annie was about 2-1/2. We were in the kids' bathroom, where I was giving Charlie a bath. I had the baby bath tub set inside the big bathtub and was leaning over the edge of the tub, cooing at Charlie while running the soapy washcloth over his baby rolls. (He actually had rolls back then.)
Annie stood behind me and started brushing my hair. Now at this time in her life, Annie HATED having her hair brushed. It was a real ordeal. So when she started brushing mine, I took the opportunity to tell her how nice it felt. How it was such a treat to have my hair brushed.
As all this was going on, I took in the scene. Here I was lovingly tending to my newborn while engaging my 2-year-old in a teachable moment and I felt like a great mom. Truthfully, I was basking in the glow of motherhood.
This went on for a few minutes. Charlie was content and Annie kept brushing. I turned slightly to grab the hooded towel (oh, I miss those things!) for Charlie when, for the first time, I got a look at Annie.
SHE WAS BRUSHING MY HAIR WITH THE TOILET BOWL BRUSH!
"No! Yucky! Yuck! Yuck!" I screamed, scooping Charlie up as fast as I could.
Annie, sensing trouble, took off running down the hall waving the toilet bowl brush high overhead.
I ran after her, wet, slippery Charlie tucked under my arm. The basking was definitely over.
Looking back, I should have known the idyllic moments in the bathroom that I felt so glowing about were too good to be true. Because, really, my experience of motherhood has mostly been about running, hollering and having a good story to tell at the end.
