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A few words to look at motherhood from the outside
Five minutes seemed to me like five hours, and then I was told these few words.
My two-year-old daughter and four-year-old son and I are sitting at my eldest, six-year-old son’s school. We are waiting for him, we have a cultural program planned.
My daughter says she can look like me, but only next to me. But when you have such a long, empty corridor in front of you, no willpower will help. And now I'm running down this corridor, nodding to a familiar mother on the move, trying to catch up with a baby who runs surprisingly fast on such and such short legs.
I told her a hundred times I couldn't run away. I grab it and go back to class. The daughter drops her shoes and screams piercingly - so only small children can.
By the time we all finally get to the parking lot, I'm terribly confused and stressed. Everyone around me thinks I’m a terrible mother. This is not the first time I have lost a child here, and my eternal “combat readiness” rarely saves the situation.
The two elders dutifully jump into the minivan and arch as I fasten the seat belts on their car seats. The daughter continues to cry, loudly and theatrically. When I fasten the last buckle, a car stops next to me and someone calls my name.
I turn around and see that mommy I ran into in the school hallway. She also has three children, but her youngest is the same age as my oldest.
She leans towards the open window. I don’t have time to say anything, as she says, “It all goes quickly.”
There is no condemnation or reproach in her voice, only understanding. She's been through it all. She understands. And more importantly, she endured it all.
Childhood tantrums will soon pass, and it is normal that they do not give me pleasure at all.
And for the first time in the last five minutes, I exhale lightly.
“The right word, said in time, is that a golden apple is in a silver vessel.” That's what Solomon's parable says.
When we get where we wanted to go – to a children’s entertainment town, a trampoline in the form of a castle – both my daughter and I have calmed down. The boys run off with their friends as soon as we get inside. And I'm running after the baby again - this time of good will.
She runs back and forth, exploring everything, but the edge of her eye keeps me in sight all the time. The daughter climbs into one of the playgrounds and shouts, “Here, mommy!” We're running after each other, she's trying to stay on her feet, and I'm deliberately jumping so she can't resist. She's flipping and laughing.
I look for boys - at least where they flashed! - but they are nowhere to be seen. They've got too much to do here to slow down with their mother and little sister.
And this little sister, right in front of me, is struggling to stay on her feet and laughing. And we're running again, her little legs are stomping, she's trying to run away from me while waiting for me to catch up.
And I think back to those words -- "It all goes fast" -- and I realize that they don't just apply to that situation at school, they go much deeper. And I admit internally that while I won’t enjoy every minute of motherhood, I will happily run after my children for life.
Credit Lauren Cormier
Translated by Anna Barabash
Source: www.matrony.ru/neskolko-slov-pozvolyayushhie-vzglyanut-na-materinstvo-so-storonyi/
My two-year-old daughter and four-year-old son and I are sitting at my eldest, six-year-old son’s school. We are waiting for him, we have a cultural program planned.
My daughter says she can look like me, but only next to me. But when you have such a long, empty corridor in front of you, no willpower will help. And now I'm running down this corridor, nodding to a familiar mother on the move, trying to catch up with a baby who runs surprisingly fast on such and such short legs.
I told her a hundred times I couldn't run away. I grab it and go back to class. The daughter drops her shoes and screams piercingly - so only small children can.
By the time we all finally get to the parking lot, I'm terribly confused and stressed. Everyone around me thinks I’m a terrible mother. This is not the first time I have lost a child here, and my eternal “combat readiness” rarely saves the situation.
The two elders dutifully jump into the minivan and arch as I fasten the seat belts on their car seats. The daughter continues to cry, loudly and theatrically. When I fasten the last buckle, a car stops next to me and someone calls my name.
I turn around and see that mommy I ran into in the school hallway. She also has three children, but her youngest is the same age as my oldest.
She leans towards the open window. I don’t have time to say anything, as she says, “It all goes quickly.”
There is no condemnation or reproach in her voice, only understanding. She's been through it all. She understands. And more importantly, she endured it all.
Childhood tantrums will soon pass, and it is normal that they do not give me pleasure at all.
And for the first time in the last five minutes, I exhale lightly.
“The right word, said in time, is that a golden apple is in a silver vessel.” That's what Solomon's parable says.
When we get where we wanted to go – to a children’s entertainment town, a trampoline in the form of a castle – both my daughter and I have calmed down. The boys run off with their friends as soon as we get inside. And I'm running after the baby again - this time of good will.
She runs back and forth, exploring everything, but the edge of her eye keeps me in sight all the time. The daughter climbs into one of the playgrounds and shouts, “Here, mommy!” We're running after each other, she's trying to stay on her feet, and I'm deliberately jumping so she can't resist. She's flipping and laughing.
I look for boys - at least where they flashed! - but they are nowhere to be seen. They've got too much to do here to slow down with their mother and little sister.
And this little sister, right in front of me, is struggling to stay on her feet and laughing. And we're running again, her little legs are stomping, she's trying to run away from me while waiting for me to catch up.
And I think back to those words -- "It all goes fast" -- and I realize that they don't just apply to that situation at school, they go much deeper. And I admit internally that while I won’t enjoy every minute of motherhood, I will happily run after my children for life.
Credit Lauren Cormier
Translated by Anna Barabash
Source: www.matrony.ru/neskolko-slov-pozvolyayushhie-vzglyanut-na-materinstvo-so-storonyi/
