It’s no secret that when I was pregnant with Brady, I was terrified of being home alone with Kyle and the baby after all of my help was gone. How would I fill the day? How would I secure the household and keep Kyle from escaping while I nursed the baby? What would I do if they were both crying at the same time? How would my house ever be clean and tidy? How would bills get paid? Would I ever sleep again?
Those were all very real and challenging questions, not merely the fears of a hormonal mother. Don’t ever be fooled by the fears of a hormonal mother, by the way. People have chalked my crazy outbursts up to the fact that I was “not myself.” I myself have apologized for my behavior when I “must have been PMS-ing.” But actually, I think I am offended by the blatant dismissal of women just because of their hormones. Hormones can make anything seem worse, but so can fatigue or sickness or stress. Show me one person who is not affected by any of those things. If we blew off what people said every time they were tired or sick or stressed out, nobody could take anybody seriously, ever.
Those first days alone with Kyle and Brady were few and far between. I did manage to plan playdates and attend play groups at least once on each of those days for several weeks. And in truth, a whole day with both kids is absolutely exhausting. Once I accepted that I would get nothing done that didn’t have anything to do with chasing, wiping, feeding, or playing, I was in a much better state.
Plus, there’s always Tuesday to look forward to. On Tuesday, Kyle goes back to daycare for three full days. Tuesday is like my Saturday. If anything has to be done, I can’t get to it until Tuesday. If a mess is made, I’ll clean it up Tuesday. Don’t look at me for dinner on Monday night. No food, unless you count Rice-a-Roni as food. I go shopping (or I sit at the computer and order groceries online) on Tuesday.
This week, the contrast between Monday and Tuesday should have been a little YouTube video documentary of How I Survive With Two Children.
Scene 1, Monday
INT: Prince living room. Day. MOM sits on the couch, holding BRADY in her lap, arm around KYLE, who has just woken up from his nap.
“dats da love in dere”
I just melted.
Haha! I LOVED your scenes! I think that kids say the most beautiful things, partially because no one has told them to censor how much they open themselves to others. It’s a lesson every day.
I will melt the day Dashiell says something like that to me. I want to come and give Kyle a hug too.