Counting on moms
A lot of mothers — both married and single — sometimes do without to make sure their children get what they need or want.
As a mom, I know this to be true.
A story in today’s New York Times just bears this out.
Moms, it seems, are putting off their own needs to make sure their kids get their Christmas wish lists fulfilled, according to the story “To Buy Children’s Gifts, Mothers Do Without.”
Moms, does this resonate with you?
Do you put off buying things for yourself or doing things for yourself to ensure that your children are taken care of and have what they need?
Do you put off exercise and doing other things for yourself because of your children’s schedule or routine?
Let me know. Send an e-mail with your comments to chinton@opubco.com. Be sure to include your name, hometown and a phone number where you can be reached. Your views may be used for a future story.
Carla Hinton
Moving with a toddler
Sounds fun, right? Well, not so much.
Last weekend, I had the great pleasure of moving … with a 2-year-old. We didn’t move far, just a few miles closer to work, and to a much bigger place and much quieter community. However, that doesn’t ease the strain and hassle of moving.
Since it’s just us two, I had to figure out a way to get everything packed in the few days prior to the move, with a toddler underfoot in every room of the house. As I would fill up boxes, he would take things out of them. If he saw a toy he hadn’t played with in months being boxed up, all of sudden it was his favorite and must be taken out and played with immediately.
When two of my friends came to move everything, all he wanted to be was part of the action. I couldn’t help all that much moving things because I had to constantly watch him.
And for days to follow, I couldn’t for the life of me, find the right cup or plate or toy in the 40 plus boxes I had in the new place. I couldn’t find his favorite bedtime books or the caboose for his train set. And I heard about it – every day.
But we’re slowly getting settled. He only refers to it as ‘the new house.’ If I say ‘we’re going home’ he gets upset because the last time he saw ‘home’ as he knew it, it was an empty spot where things used to be. But going to ‘the new house’ makes him happy and excited, which makes it home to me.
Soon enough, it will be home to him, too.
Any horror stories about moving with kids? Share them here or e-mail me at the address below.
~Erica Smith
Aches and Pains – Are They Really Sick?
I have a habit. My children will complain they don’t feel well, they don’t want to get out of bed or they don’t want to go to school.
I say, “I’m sorry. Time to get up,” and then I keep pushing them to eat breakfast, brush their teeth and get dressed for school.
If the whining continues, I’ll say, “You’ll feel better if you just get up and move around,” or “You’ll feel better when you get to school and see your friends.”
My problem is I never can tell – unless one of the kids is vomiting or has a 102-degree temperature – whether they’re really sick. I continue to press them to get ready for school, and it’s only after a couple of hours … and sometimes a couple of days … that I give in to the notion they might be ill.
Part of the reason is that one of my girls tends to complain every day about feeling bad on some part of her body. It could be her toe, her finger, her jaw, her head, but something has a pain. My other daughter has “you’re-not-paying-enough-attention to me” pains when her sister is ill or is complaining.
It can be a vicious circle.
Another reason I tend to be in denial is that it isn’t “convenient,” and, for that, I feel guilty.
So, last week when my oldest daughter was complaining about her stomach hurting, then her head, I didn’t completely give into the idea that she might actually be sick. Yes, my youngest daughter had had strep throat, but that didn’t mean the other one did. Each day, the complains would come, and I’d take a flashlight, tilt her head back and peer into her throat.
And, sure enough, by Thursday, there were the blisters. Yes. She was sick.
Does anyone else go through this internal wrestling? I wish I could know with the first complaint whether to take them to the doctor. But, until I see “proof,” I’m playing the guessing game. – Linda Lynn
