June 14, 2010

Mommy, is "Odie" a dog???

"Odie" would be my very special furry boyfriend… the best spooner in the world, my sweet, loveable, half Sharpei, half German Shepherd, Humane Society adopted, canine companion! (Odie is a post for another day.) The one asking the question would be my 7-year-old kidlet #7. You see, this is how his oldest three siblings – by oldest three I mean, oldest brother with the loving support of his two cohorts (Kidlets #2 – the worst offender, #3, and #4) love(s) to spend their (HIS) morning(s)… torturing the freckled faced and easily provoked brother with stupid crap so that he will then come and torture me.

Naturally, when Kidlet #7 comes to me for the 5th time in the morning to harangue me with another really stupid question as a result of his brothers’ antagonizing, I eventually holler at the older ones (usually one in particular) for making my morning difficult (in more colorful terminology). That’s when I get the look of “shock and amazement” because they (HE) didn’t actually DO anything!

I’m afraid that, by the time I actually get the hang of this child-rearing thing, the children will all have grown-up and moved away. Of course – having lived in a home with seven children – I’m rather hoping they’ll have the common sense to wait a good long time before having children of their own. Don’t get me wrong – I have no real issues with becoming a grandmother (in the VERY FAR AWAY FUTURE). It’s somewhere in that 20 year plan of mine… I just hope that they will take the time to really LIVE before they get to that point. That way, they have no regrets and are prepared for the complex and ever-changing world of child rearing.

But, in the end – the moments I look forward to most are those ones that happen in the middle of the night – when there’s no one around to see or make a fuss… that moment when the child who always wants to sleep with you (Kidley #7, that 7-year-old that the older boys torture unmercifully), whom you’ve said “no” to sleeping with you over a dozen times – cuz mommies sometimes just need to sleep alone – comes into your room at 3:00 a.m. with a bad dream saying, “Mommy, can I sleep with you for the rest of the night?” There’s that moment you realize – you’re “it” for this kid… He curls up next to you, you curl up next to him, and even though you know you’re not going to get back to sleep – or at least anymore restful sleep – you’re content.

Today – I’m pretty damned content…

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