In search of... balance?

motherdom vs. humandom

 

For starters, I am not sure that there is such a word as "humandom", but let's just agree that it is communicatively effective and that you get my meaning...

Humandom is when you feel like a human. You are able to function in normal day-to-day interactions, you remember to get dressed before leaving the house rather than taking the kids to school in your pyjamas, and you get everything on the shopping list without leaving at least one item off the list. When in humandom...

• Do as the humans do: Make eye contact, converse in full sentences that make sense, and respond when people ask you a question.  
• Look like a human: no spills on your clothes, look presentable, have neat hair... styling it would be pushing the limits for me but a nice clip is quite acceptable... smile at people and somehow get rid of the slowly drooping bags under my eyes. 
• Be a professional: This is one area which I love. It energises me and reminds me that there is more to life than changing nappies and mushy vegetables. But to do this, I have to cover steps 1 and 2 first as people may be a tad dismayed to finding me in my pyjamas, with wild woolly hair.

These may sound simple but Motherdom seems to be in direct competition to functioning like a human.

As a mother, you

• aim to make sure everyone is fed at regular intervals each day,
• keep tabs on what everyone (Numbers 1, 2 and Bean) are doing at every hour of the day and night,
• keep track of socks, shoes and bibs,
• deal with temperatures and being puked on, 
• and wake up repeatedly and irregularly during the night ... and then you are somehow expected to function as a human in the intervals.

Sometimes, it feels like having multiple personalities all trying to carry out different tasks at the same time with only one body, and my days seems to go by in a blur. Motherdom is also fraught with some major challenges... like cutting Bean's razor sharp nails, a task which has to be done while Bean slumbers as it is completely impossible when his eyes are open. And changing nappies is comparable to wrestling a wild octopus.

Don't get me wrong here, motherdom has some of the most awesome highlights, where humandom pales by comparison. There is little as exciting as watching Bean reach his milestones. And while they may seem to be small steps to outsiders, even moving from standing against the couch to cruising along it gripping firmly to the cushions for balance is like a mega-milestone with my Bean.

Perhaps, sometimes being human is too much like hard work sometimes but neither is it optional, so the odd (perhaps more regular) pyjama day is quite acceptable too, so it is always a good idea to give me warning if you are coming round for a surprise cup of tea. If not, I'll be delighted to see you... but you may be in for a shock.