Silly Mommy!

At least once a week, I get notice from my honey that his parents want to keep the girls overnight. He always asks me if that's ok, as if I would have any possible reason to say no. I mean really, show me parents who don't want a night away from the kids, and I'll show you a cult. To me, a happy, well-adjusted child should do what my daughter does when I leave her at Grandma's house - wave bye, and say, "I love you and I'll see you later." Even my youngest has no problem with leaving me behind, and to me this is great. Does it somewhat hurt my feelings? Yep. But do I think my children's actions should be dictated by my feelings of loss? Absolutely not. That, and after five kids, being childless for a day makes me insane with joy.

My mother always told me you raise your children to live without you, not with you. To me that means they should not be worried about leaving you behind when they want to go, and be prepared for the world at large. I wish I could get this concept across to me ex-husband, who chains my boys to him with need. They stay mostly at their dad's house through choice, because they say he needs them more than I do. That's not necessarily true, but I'm not going to play them like a piano to get them free, or I'm just as bad as my ex. Someday, I hope they'll free themselves, and I think they will. (Free willie!)

So, my honey gets home from work, ready to be "child-free" and not have to run any more errands. He makes the (classic) mistake of telling the 4 year old what's going on. "Diana, do you want to go to Nana and Poppa's house?" he asks.

"Yeah! Yeah! I'll get my shoes on, all by myself." And she goes and gets her shoes on.

"You might not have wanted to say anything yet, the baby is still sleeping," I tell him.

"Shit, I thought she was awake. Oh well, too late now."

"I'm ready to go to Nana and Poppa's house now," my personal mini-me says excitedly.

"Well, Baby Sister is sleeping, so we'll have to wait until she wakes up to go," he tells her.

I see her disappointment, so I tell her, "Why don't you play in your room until Daffy wakes up." She runs in her room. Oh, I forgot...."Diana, don't wake up your sister!" I call out. "Let her sleep, and you guys can go in a little while."

A pause, then she returns to the living room. "Okay," she says, and sighs. "Can I play Mario Kart Wii?" she asks. So I get it set up for her. She recently discovered Wii this past weekend when her cousin (Jeilon, a year older) came over to spend the night. She had to come out after every game and tell us how she did. "I won, I won!" she says, and I go to look at the score. 11th place out of 12. I'm not sure she's clear on the concept yet. Then, "I lost Mommy, Princess Peach was sad," and she makes the sad face. That happens when she's 12 out of 12. This update happens every time. Every Race. And that day she plays for 45 minutes.

"Well, if you don't win, try again," I tell her each and every time she comes in last, until the baby actually gets up. Finally, everyone is awake and ready to go, and I have my 4 year old give me a kiss. "Bye honey! Have fun."

"Bye, Mommy, I'm going to miss you so much!" she tells me in a mourful little voice, complete with the sad face she has when she loses. Well, this is a new thing. Awww! Wait a minute... Now I see what she's doing! Well, two can play that game.

"Well, pumpkin, I'll miss you, too! Maybe you should give me another kiss, then you won't miss me so much." I tell her, and hold her close for 'luvies' (hugs) for a few seconds. She squirms a little. "I don't think I can let you go pumpkin, I'll miss you too much. Maybe you should just stay with me and not go to Nana and Poppa's house." I match her mournful voice and sad face.

"No, I won't miss you that much," she tells me, and laughs. "Silly Mommy!" she says, and runs out the door to catch up to her daddy. Gotcha! Well, it was fun while it lasted.