Brain Atrophy

Hey There....

Isn't it amazing that women understand their moms so much more once they have their own kids? Doesn't it surprise you that your mom didn't tell you anything about what being a wife and mom was all about? My mom was a stay at home mom of 4 before we all went to school. I never understood why she went back to work when her youngest started Kindergarten. Now I know. She needed to talk to adults.

I'm trying to figure out why my Mom never told me what it was really like to be a stay at home mom? Granted, in some ways she had it harder than I did, especially because she didn't have a car. She was a TRUE Stay At Home Mom. I have a car, but that just means that instead of being a "Stay At Home Mom", I am a "Pick Up and Drop Off Mom". All day long it's go here and go there. Drop off this one here and that one there. Pick up this one here and that one there. Hopefully I get in an errand here and there. It's non-stop, all day. Exhausted at the end of the day, I feel as though I did not accomplish a single thing, yet I was busy all day. Sometimes (like last night) I think, "Really? Reeeeally??? This is IT? THIS is what my 'grown up life' is all about?" Wow! I did not expect this.

The other day I was at the bus stop waiting for Lily's bus to arrive. As I was talking to another mom, I said, "Yesterday I teached Lily how to subtract by counting up." Yes, I really said "teached"! You know you have been hanging around kids too much when their grammar errors start to infiltrate your speech. I hate incorrect grammar and here I was saying "teached". What the heck? It shouldn't surprise me too much, these days I spend very little time with other adults. Most of the time I'm hanging out with my kids. It's no wonder that I can't speak properly. It's no surprise that my brain has gone to mush. I no longer remember the simplest things. My family and I would not survive without my calendar. (Well, we would survive, but we'd never make a doctor's appointment or dentist appointment, we'd miss gymnastics, dance class and swim lessons. All this because my brain doesn't function any more.) No one told me about "Mommy Brain". It wasn't until I started complaining about the mush in my skull that other women told me about "Mommy Brain". WHY didn't my Mom tell me about this before I had kids????

Oh....wait..... I know why....she wanted grandkids.

Until later....I hope you get a chance to have a decent "adult" conversation sometime soon. Perhaps you can try using a fancy word. For example, "My brain has atrophied since becoming a mother." Try it...it will make you feel smart.