Are you ready for the last 5 worst mommy moments? I made sure to save the best for last.
Smile for the Camera- Many of you know that I love sending Christmas photo cards every year. I know that you can never get the perfect photo, but I was always hoping to capture a half smile at least. This particular year I had this great idea to put them in a wrapped box. Sydney would be holding a bow. All I got from them was screams of terror. Finally, I said you will smile for this camera and make it look like you are having fun or Santa won’t bring you any presents this year. This is what I got. Sydney was too young to know about Santa and I think Harrison was scared for his life. Not one of my finest moments.
Too Much Screen Time- Harrison loves his video games and cell phone. Sydney has mastered the Ipad. These electronics have come in handy on long car trips and hospital visits and to play educational games. I remember one day my “to do” list was long as usual. I needed to do laundry, pay bills, complete doctor intake forms, make phone calls, and grade papers. The list goes on and on. The kids were in their quiet spots and I set the timer for one hour. I was off to do as much as I could within that hour. Well you know how that goes. You start one project and then you get sidetracked and forget what you were doing. At least that is what happens to me. So when I looked at the timer with only 10 minutes left. Panic mode set in. I reset the timer for another hour. I told them they were doing such a great job and to keep playing. By now several hours have passed and they were still going strong. Harrison told me that their time was up like four hours ago. For a moment I felt guilty, but for once in my life my “to do” list was complete.
Give me that wig!- There is a blog that I am working on about black women and their hair that I will share later. I had to share this wig story first. Many of you know I chopped all of my hair off six years ago. I went “natural”. I wore braids for three years. Then I started wearing different wigs or weaves. Not because I didn’t have hair. I just needed something quick and easy. I didn’t have any extra time to style my hair in the mornings. When we were living in Michigan, I made the mistake of letting Sydney see me take off my wig. She just laughed and laughed. For those of you who don’t know when you wear a wig you braid your hair in cornrows first. Then you put on a wig cap and then your wig and you are out of the door. Since I was so new at this and terrible at braiding. I just braided my hair and would throw the wig on.
One day we are at Kroger, grocery store just to grab a few things. You have to remember going to the grocery store was a sensory struggle for Sydney. So we would pretend like we were contestants on Supermarket Sweep. We would race through the store like we had road rage to get our items and get to the check out lane. Not before mommy picked up a few bottles of wine. Oh, how I miss Michigan. In Michigan wine, beer and liquor are sold in the grocery stores, so it was one stop shopping. So we are making our way through the store. We were waiting in the line and Sydney spotted a pack of balloons. I told her we would get the balloons later and Harrison and I kept putting the food on the belt. I was ready to pay and I told her to give me the balloons and she did. The cashier recognized my “I’m not buying these” look. I thought everything was great. Syd was calm and I was ready to pay. When I heard her yell “give me that wig” as she pulled the wig off of my head. Harrison’s mouth dropped because he didn’t know I was wearing a wig. I continued to complete my transaction with my cornrows looking like Queen Latifah in the movie Set It Off. Even the manager came over to make sure everything was okay. By this time I am too tired to be embarrassed. This is The Copher’s Community Circus and that wasn’t autism that was Syd being a brat.
Mom, I told my teacher we were Jewish.- We were very blessed to have joined The Friendship Circle in Michigan. It is an organization that is ran by the Jewish community to assist families with children with disabilities. They were very friendly and welcomed us with open arms. Sydney also participated in The Lenny Krayzelburg Swim Academy. Lenny is an Olympic medalist and Syd had an opportunity to take lessons with him. Sydney was involved with many events with the jewish community. She was learning Hebrew words and she learned how to make challah bread. In Harrison’s mind we were Catholic but Sydney was Jewish. His teacher called me one day to find out if Sydney was Jewish or not. Okie dokie, moving right along.
Sometimes I tell a little lie.- I love all people. I don’t have a problem talking with people while waiting in the lines, waiting rooms or at events. Harrison says that I always make a new friend whenever we go out. For some reason strangers are very comfortable asking me very personal questions. I’m not sure why that is. I admit I was just getting tired of trying to answer one question before they asked me another one. Here are the most popular questions that I am asked when I am out with my kids.
- Is their father white? Because they don’t look anything like you. I would attempt to answer the question and explain his heritage, but they just wouldn’t listen. But in the end I would just say” yes, he’s white” and keep it moving.
- How old are your twins? Who was born first? Deep breathe, no they are not twins, my son is actually older. Oh just forget it! My twins are 13 and my son was born first.
- Are those your kids? “No, I am just the nanny.” This was my response usually after a meltdown.
Many of you have seen me at my worst, at my best, and with tears in my eyes from our daily stress. But you have also seen me smile and try to make you smile. I wouldn’t change my life at all. We all have days when we feel like we are the parent of the year. There are also days when we feel like slackers or that we have failed. Just remember to be there for your children. That’s what matters most.
~Brooke
A Woman's Work - Brooke Basically Blogging 