Got tagged by Aparna to write about the five learnings from mommyhood - Thank you Aparna!
5 I thought?... Five?.. Out of all the millions of little things these are the biggest ones I could think of :).
1. The first thing I learnt after becoming a mom was about how unselfish I could become! I was an only child, and though not a terrible brat (atleast hopefully not ;)), never quite had to grasp the concept of putting anybody's feelings before my own. Until I had my first child of course :). I learnt that I could change from the kind of person who sleeps through a thunderstorm, to being awakened by the slightest noise my child makes. From being a career woman to being a SAHM. From being a wife, an individual to somehow being this MOM who is very much entangled in my children and mommyhood :).
2. About the Gender divide - I always used to think the gender stereotyping with girls and dolls Vs boys and cars is not appropriate, and encouraged my children to explore and play however they wanted. Though it is wonderful to see D's enthusiasm for Hot Wheels, and S's curiosity about Barbies, there are some things in which the two are just genetically different and there's no getting around that!! For example at age 2 similar conversations with D and S about the sharp edge of a drawer:
Me: It's dangerous to go under that baby, be careful ok?
D: Ok (And never again went that side).
but with
S: Silence (Which if I thought meant consent, definitely did not!). I turned the other side for a moment and find him sticking his head in there immediately. In fact until recently it was his favourite play zone while I would be holding my breath until he came out of there!
Correct me if I'm wrong other moms, maybe it's a 1st vs 2nd child thing too, but still lots and lots of stuff I find is not in my hands - they're just different!!
3. To get a hold of my patience - This is really a big problem category for me, and I am trying hard to learn to come to grips with it. I hope I have improved a little and have a loooot more to learn about how to be firm without screaming my head off :(.
4. To become nutritionally aware - I was a picky eater as a child, and faced a big challenge with my dear D who has been choosy from the word go about what she would open her mouth for! To transition from there, to her now at 6 years old finishing the food I send her to school, as well as doing a good job of eating at home is something I am really thankful for :). It was tough for me to try to figure out food groups and requirements for growing children - don't remember that sort of stuff having much importance when we were young - we seemed to grow like weeds eating something or the other!!
5. To get more organized - Do I have a choice on this ? :). I thought getting 2 children ready for school at 9 am was tough, but now that seems like an easy memory compared to getting one out the door at 6:45 am, with breakfast/lunch in some reasonably nutritious combination packed ! I am not looking forward to 3 years from now when both of them will need to be out at the same time (Food coupons - here I come !!).
I am pretty sure most mommy bloggers I read have already been tagged, but here go the ones I haven't read posts by, in case you haven't been tagged already:
Rohini
Garima
Life_Refactored - Fatherhood of course :) - waiting to hear all about the dad's point of view!
5 I thought?... Five?.. Out of all the millions of little things these are the biggest ones I could think of :).
1. The first thing I learnt after becoming a mom was about how unselfish I could become! I was an only child, and though not a terrible brat (atleast hopefully not ;)), never quite had to grasp the concept of putting anybody's feelings before my own. Until I had my first child of course :). I learnt that I could change from the kind of person who sleeps through a thunderstorm, to being awakened by the slightest noise my child makes. From being a career woman to being a SAHM. From being a wife, an individual to somehow being this MOM who is very much entangled in my children and mommyhood :).
2. About the Gender divide - I always used to think the gender stereotyping with girls and dolls Vs boys and cars is not appropriate, and encouraged my children to explore and play however they wanted. Though it is wonderful to see D's enthusiasm for Hot Wheels, and S's curiosity about Barbies, there are some things in which the two are just genetically different and there's no getting around that!! For example at age 2 similar conversations with D and S about the sharp edge of a drawer:
Me: It's dangerous to go under that baby, be careful ok?
D: Ok (And never again went that side).
but with
S: Silence (Which if I thought meant consent, definitely did not!). I turned the other side for a moment and find him sticking his head in there immediately. In fact until recently it was his favourite play zone while I would be holding my breath until he came out of there!
Correct me if I'm wrong other moms, maybe it's a 1st vs 2nd child thing too, but still lots and lots of stuff I find is not in my hands - they're just different!!
3. To get a hold of my patience - This is really a big problem category for me, and I am trying hard to learn to come to grips with it. I hope I have improved a little and have a loooot more to learn about how to be firm without screaming my head off :(.
4. To become nutritionally aware - I was a picky eater as a child, and faced a big challenge with my dear D who has been choosy from the word go about what she would open her mouth for! To transition from there, to her now at 6 years old finishing the food I send her to school, as well as doing a good job of eating at home is something I am really thankful for :). It was tough for me to try to figure out food groups and requirements for growing children - don't remember that sort of stuff having much importance when we were young - we seemed to grow like weeds eating something or the other!!
5. To get more organized - Do I have a choice on this ? :). I thought getting 2 children ready for school at 9 am was tough, but now that seems like an easy memory compared to getting one out the door at 6:45 am, with breakfast/lunch in some reasonably nutritious combination packed ! I am not looking forward to 3 years from now when both of them will need to be out at the same time (Food coupons - here I come !!).
I am pretty sure most mommy bloggers I read have already been tagged, but here go the ones I haven't read posts by, in case you haven't been tagged already:
Rohini
Garima
Life_Refactored - Fatherhood of course :) - waiting to hear all about the dad's point of view!
Good points Aparna... this is what I call a double whammy... getting tagged by two people and both "Aparna"s...what are the odds? :) There is no escaping now.
ReplyDeleteOk... I did it...
ReplyDeletehttp://juniperandlillies.blogspot.com/2011/06/tag-5-things-fatherhood-taught-me.html
LOL @ the gender divide..can relate to S's reaction..and yes a very valid fourth point..we suddenly become so conscious of the nutrional value of every meal, isnt it?
ReplyDeletevery nice post, Aparna...
@Life_Refactored - Thank you! So silly of me to forget that's how I got to your blog in the first place - anyway I hope the more tags the merrier ;).
ReplyDelete@Uma - Thanks! I loved your approach to this tag too!