MAMA!, Queen of Safety and Well Being

Superman is really Clark Kent. When Clark Kent sees danger, he quickly changes into Superman and rushes in to save the day. This is how I feel as a mother sometimes...one moment I am Chalna and the next moment I am "MAMA!, Queen of Safety and Well being". I am pretty sure that "MAMA!" is not the most fun version of me, but it persists none the less. This is who I am now, or at least the most major part of me. I relish my title and promise to fight only for good. :-)



Yesterday, our neighbor threw a wonderful Memorial Day BBQ, complete with pool party, lots of alcohol, and good food. There is nothing that I love more than a pool party on a hot day and let me tell you, I could use some sun drenched, hamburger eating, good fun. So we packed up the little man and headed over as a family. We entered through the back yard and much to my chagrin, Chalna turned into "MAMA!" immediately. First of all, it was beyond hot outside. It was sweltering. It was about 95 degrees, not a cloud in the sky, and the humidity was way up there. Keeping in mind that these are my next door neighbors, we were already literally dripping with sweat by the time we walked around the corner. Not good. When we walked around the corner, I noticed that there were no children in attendance. There were tons of sunburned adults who had obviously been drinking in the heat...loud, a little crazy, and having a great time. Chalna would have grabbed a frosty beer and jumped in to the festivities, but MAMA! was on alert. The pool was being dominated by a volleyball game at that moment, so Colin could not get in the water. There was a huge ashtray full of cigarette buts and I saw several packs here and there. Chalna would have no problem with that...MAMA! was not happy with Colin outside too. The hosts, who are WONDERFUL folks (we are so lucky to have great neighbors!), were so happy to see Colin and welcomed us. They are not married yet, dating, a bit older than us and childless. They live in a world that I used to play in all the time, before Colin. They pulled up chairs for us, but there was no room in the shade and Colin was starting to resemble a tomato. I picked him up and felt sweat trickle over my fingers. That was it. Jer jumped in the pool to play volleyball (one of us had to stay...I felt rude enough turning around and leaving!) and Colin and I headed out. I made our excuses and know full well that I came off as a pain in the ass. But MAMA! does not care how she comes across as long as her baby is safe. I was there for 6 minutes total. That must be a record. I walked right back in the house, took off Colin's sweaty swimsuit, turned the fan on high, and we played with blocks in the safe cool house for the rest of the afternoon.



It is amazing how much my life has changed in just a few short months. It seems like an eternity ago that I was childless and getting sunburned and tipsy at a grown-up pool party. I was reminded of several things yesterday. First of all, I am really glad that we had Colin when I was 30. I always thought I wanted children earlier, but I am thankful that I am older. I got years to play...get drunk and sunburned...party all night...sleep in all day with Jer...come and go as we pleased. We have amazing memories of those times and I am glad that I got to experience that life. It made me ready to be where I am today...a mom. I had a blast in my twenties and I am ready to be more settled now. I did not mind giving up that party to play with my little man. He is my focus now, his needs are mine. Don't get me wrong, I know that I still need adult time every now and then, and I find ways to get it. But I certainly don't mind missing a drunken pool party to keep my baby safe and happy. I also learned that I am lucky to have the great friends that I do...most of my best friends now have little ones, so we have tons of opportunities to have kid friendly parties. I am reminded that we need to invite folks over more often and schedule more time with those friends. There is nothing more valuable than good friends who you know will take care of your baby the way you would. Thank goodness for ya'll!



So that is the latest in the MAMA! chronicles. I am sure she will be swooping in to save the day again very soon. :-)