Home Cooked Thoughts

There are many things that have come naturally with motherhood . . . an unending stream of unconditional love, a stronger stomach to handle even the nastiest of “blow outs,” an ability to function on two hours of sleep, a confidence that as long as your child looks good you can get away with a ponytail and mismatched clothing, and let’s not forget the realization that no one can care for your little one(s) better than you. But there is one thing that doesn’t come naturally that would benefit us all: common sense. Even the common sense you once possessed seems lacking.

Case in point: my husband and I opted for a family outing to the beach over the weekend, a quick trip to introduce Ben to the ocean. We arrived and immediately set up the stroller and threw some towels in the bottom basket, put Ben’s sunglasses on, grabbed the camera, and we were off. Did anyone notice our error? We crossed the street and headed over the dunes on a man-made walkway – one that included straight paths and many stairs. Neither one of us had the “light bulb” realization while we carried the stroller over all of the stairs . . . it wasn’t until we reached the sand that I realized our stupidity. Why had we brought the stroller?! It wasn’t going anywhere in the sand and we immediately took Ben out to play in the water anyway.

Then there’s the conversation I was having with my sister regarding the weight of our little ones. I don’t particularly enjoy having to wait until the doctor’s appointment to find out Ben’s weight and it isn’t convenient to place him on our bathroom scale. Then my sister mentions that she weighs herself at the grocery store and then picks up her son to figure out his weight. Duh! Why couldn’t I have thought of that?! If you’re wondering why my sister has retained her common sense and I haven’t . . . she hasn’t, but I won’t take this time to air her dirty laundry!

Ben is almost five months old and I just recently realized that the best place to park at the grocery store, while Ben is in tote, is near the cart return space. Prior to this realization I had been standing near my car with the cart hoping some cart-needy shopper would walk by and give me an assist or I would contemplate simply leaving the cart in the middle of the parking lot (which happens to be a pet-peeve of mine). So now, after five months, I park near the cart return.

While I was pregnant lack of logic events such as this were commonly referred to as pregnancy brain and now I refer to this new phenomenon as mommy mush brain, a term coined by a friend of mine. I had previously thought of myself as a pretty intelligent person, but unfortunately I am now questioning my ability to handle even the simplest of tasks. The only thing I am sure of . . . I am so impressed with my mom for managing five of us without any of us noticing if she had these difficulties!

By the way . . . Happy Birthday Mom! I love you!