Perfect Ol' Mamas

I found this post of Danielle Bean's to be very intriguing.

For most of my "mommy-hood" I have thought of myself as the newbie. I mean, I am still only 28 years old, right?

;)

And it constantly surprises me when younger moms with only one or two children come up to me and gush about how they "remember" when I had only one or three (since the time between having two and having three was very very short) and how they marveled at my awesomeness... or some such silly thing.

And NOW!

Well, now, apparently, I am one of those old Mamas who knows everything and whose life is officially over.

That's not what they say, of course. But, it's what I used to think of those "moms with 5+ kids".

Those moms were not rattled by anything. They were so laid back, and just smiled gently when they saw their two year old spraying Elmer's glue all over the floor. They all calmly accepted that they would not be able to consume an entire cup of coffee while it's piping hot, and finishing sentences was entirely overrated.

When I encountered these moms, I roundly turned up my nose at their lack-a-daisical parenting style and soundly ignored all of their well-meaning tidbits of advice.

Because I am oh-so-humble that way.

And I found out, among other things, that Someone upstairs has an amazing sense of humor.

I have pretty much swallowed back all of my earlier "perfect parenting" aspirations and become one of those moms. (minus the Elmer's glue reaction) For example, the recent Math fiasco? You betcha, a result of not listening to "one of those moms"...

So, when one of these "newbie moms" comes up to me and starts the gush, I am truly astonished. I try to never offer advice unless asked, and end up being very impressed with this younger set coming through. They are all so joyful, so capable, and yet so humble.

It gives us older Mamas hope.

:)