Full Circle...

On a rare occasion my children will have moments where they play beautifully together. For about 45 seconds...and then all hell breaks loose again. These moments are of course precious and tender and make your heart go "ahhhhh..." They are also very telling and educational, a quick glimpse into the world that my kids live in.

My daughter, Sienna, has never been one to be a "girly" girl. Only recently has she shown any interest in "pretty" things or in allowing us to even tame her head of curls with a barrette or two. She usually can be found running around in her diaper (ah yes, potty training has not gone over so well with her...) with a trail of clothes spread out behind her. Once in a while she will pull out a doll and her baby stroller and play "mommy" and this is where my true education begins.

Mommy Sienna: "Baby, ahhh baby, I wuv you. Sit in your chair, we go on walk"
*insert action of baby being stuffed into the stroller by her head. Note to self: never let Sienna near a newborn unattended.
Mommy Sienna: "Baby Ella is going for a walk. Oh my goodness...Baby Ella you poops! Time to change!"
*insert action of baby being dumped out of the stroller similar to how a dump truck would lighten its load.
Mommy Sienna: "Oh Baby Ella, you are tinky! Oh my goodness, what is 'appenin here? You go timeout! You no poops on the carpet! Bad baby bad baby bad baby!!
*insert action of baby being shoved into the wall face first and Sienna standing behind her with her hands on her hips counting to ten.
Mommy Sienna: "One, two, seven, three, eight...TEN! Okay baby, you get out now."
*again, insert stuffing action into the chair, but this time baby's head is now positioned backwards to her body. Baby won't fit in the chair, so more stuffing ensues...eventually baby goes in upside down.
Mommy Sienna: "Now I go to work. Bye Baby Ella, I wuv you. Oh my goodness! What is 'appenin here? No poops on the carpet! NO POOPS ON THE CARPET! Bad baby...now you go time out!!! I'm the boss! I AM THE MOMMY SO I AM THE BOSS! You go time out NOWWWWWWWWW!!"

So there is something quite ironic about hearing your own words come out of your child's mouth. No, I have never stuffed Sienna into the stroller by her head OR upside down (although the thought HAS occurred to me before), and no I haven't sent her to timeout for "poops on the carpet". I am thinking that I may need to do a check of my house though...is there something I don't know about hiding in their bedroom???

I know for a fact that at one point in our lives or another we have all have experienced this same phenomenon...the "oh my gosh, I HAVE become my mother!!" moment that hits us like a ton of bricks.

Lately with my own kids I have had several revelations about being a mom and my own mother. Mostly it has been me wincing from the new awareness of a whole different perspective from my own childhood that before becoming a mother I never even considered. Birthdays have a new meaning for me now--used to be all about me...but now on my own birthday I think of my mom and what memories she harbors from that day almost 37 years ago. I also think of all the time my own mother had for us kids and how she never seemed tired, tense or overwhelmed. I'm sure she felt it but she never let us feel it. Often I quiz her on if she ever grew impatient or frustrated and she just laughs and says, "Oh honey, you don't know the half of it..."

So as I listen to my own daughter put her doll into timeout for the 27th time I have to say that today I am thankful for the fact that yes, I am like my mother. I hope that one day my daughter can have the same realization and hear my words come out of her mouth.

The nice ones, of course.