Now I plan meals and cook dinner, make sack lunches and do laundry. I say things like "Use your eyes," and "That's too loud," and "No, you cannot have a piece of candy." A fun night involves a great TV show and sleeping. Instead of rushing off to school, I am the rushee and spend many a morning finding library books, appropriate socks, and lost shoes before the school bus arrives.
My mind is full of very important information like who wants peanut butter and honey sandwiches, who prefers mustard AND ketchup on his hot dog, who wants their ice cream in a bowl and not a cone, and who likes to sleep with his light dimmed, and not off.
I used to worry about being cool at school, if I was wearing the "right" outfit or who would be my date to the prom. I would strive to have a golden tan in the summer, and have an artificial tan in the winter.
Now I worry about education, bills, swine flu, school bullies, the influence of video games and TV on a young child's brain and if my six year old will EVER learn to tie his shoes. I wear sunscreen and don't care if my legs are white. OK, I do care, but I don't go to the tanning salon anymore. And all that tanning...yeah it's payback time in the form of wrinkles and brown spots.
Gone are the summer lazy days by the pool, going out with friends at night and best of all, no school.
Now summer means yelling "WALK" at the swimming pool, worrying about sunburns, bee stings and drowning, and insisting that yes, you must take a shower EVERY night.
Instead of friendly debates with my friends of which actor is cuter, which car is cooler and which club we should go to that night, I referee arguments about who gets to unload the top rack of the dishwasher, who got the bigger scoop of ice cream, and who gets to brush their teeth first. And my answer is always the same...life isn't fair and it doesn't matter.
I tell my children to go outside and get fresh air and exercise.
I tell them if they watch too much TV, they're brains will turn to mush.
If they tell me they are bored, I give them some entertaining chores to do.
I teach them the dangers of high fructose corn syrup and sodium.
I worry when they eat hard candy.
I make them get white milk at McDonald's instead of chocolate milk.
I make them AT LEAST take a jacket to school (you don't have to wear it.)
I've turned into my mother.
This girl....
20 years later...is now this mom.
