mommy and me

There once was a day when I really loved Mommy and Me. I swear I can remember those sweet days of carrying in my baby girl in her beautiful "new" dress to show off to all the other moms. All of her dresses were new, the child had more clothes than our local gymboree.

Us moms would prance in with our beautiful diaper bags and fully dressed children with laced socks and shoes to match the outfit. We would sit on the mat amongst other young mothers and discuss how tired we were and how there was no time in the day for ourselves and how much laundry and other household chores we had to do.

The babies would lay or sit unsteadily on the mats and smile and coo as we acted like fools singing different songs to them. They did not say too much...but a lot of cooing with a belly laugh every now and again. There was hardly any crying at all, just and occasional tired or hungry baby. Some of the babies would even fall asleep during the hour and half class. We would bring a snack which consisted of a bottle or breast and perhaps some type of cheerio or star puff.

Ah those were the days....

Now at mommy and me things are a little different. Of course the children are older, but not only that.....the euphoria that we once knew as mommy and me has become a scene out of Animal House. There is lots of running, screaming, crying and full out tantrums. No one wants to share or wait their turn. It is the 3 ringed circus that is way out of control. The moms look like they just crawled out of bed and chances are most of them are late, the instructor knows this so we have free play the first 15 minutes. The kids although still dressed cute are sometimes wearing juice or their breakfast or whatever else they encountered on their way to class.

These mothers are also fully aware of the meaning of the word tired. Most have a baby at home keeping them up at night, a toddler to chase around with that baby on their hip and don't even have a minute during the day to pee real quick or even realize they need to pee. There is no sleeping in with the baby anymore.....or getting ready while you little one sits in the swing and coos at you as you blow dry your hair. You have to jump up to make oatmeal and pack a real snack and dress 3 people in clothes that sort of match, get the new baby to a babysitter or just let him tag along for the ride.....you throw you wet hair up in a ponytail and throw on some powder and maybe concealer to hide the circles under your eyes if you think about it before you leave. Yeah I do not really get around to doing that either.

Today as I sat at Mommy and Me remembering the good old days...and thought about how much my child has grown in the last two years.....I yearned for the days that I just thought I was tired. The children in mommy and me were once babies....now they are little people who are clearly running their mothers ragged. I am one of those ragged mothers....ain't life grand!