Monday, October 26, 2009

Guest Post : Mom Rage

Hello! I am back from vacation but suffering from the post Hawaii blues so here is a guest post from my friend MP. MP is my mom soulmate. She was a one woman support system when I lived in the frozen north and I miss her like crazy. Luckily she has an awesome blog so I almost feel like I still get to talk to her everyday. Check it out!

Hello, my name is MP.
I am a Mom Rager.

Let's get one thing straight. I love my kid, in fact there's not much that I love more than my kid. She's the cutest, smartest, funnest and funniest kid on Earth. See? I can totally be one of those moms. However even I can fall prey to the not so rarest of diseases...Mom Rage.

You can see it for yourself everyday in the grocery store, Target or non-cartoon character themed restaurant. You see a mom bent over, teeth clenched, angrily whispering threats. She straightens up only to hurriedly pick up the toy/clean up the mess/apologize to the waiter and then she's out the door like a flash. In fact, unless you have a trained eye you might miss this display of 'Motherly Affection'.

Mom Rage has no known trigger. It could be the thousandth time a kid has said, "Mom!" in one hour, the third toy that was angrily thrown to the ground, a lunch that wasn't eaten, a tantrum or sometimes just simply when your kid smiles when you tell them "No". My Mom Rage has been set off from all of these scenarios; and then some.

Fortunately Mom Rage seems to dissipate as quickly as it appears. Almost the instant that you get it, you can feel it melting away. You take your kid and rush out only to be met with some fresh air. Mom Rage gone. That smile that was so annoying not five seconds ago is now endearing as your kid reaches in to give you a hug. Thank goodness our kids are cute, otherwise I'm pretty sure the other cure for Mom Rage would be a full bottle of wine...and I only start drinking after five. Ok, four. But only if it's been one of those days.

The thing about Mom Rage is that everyone gets it. From the time your kid is born you feel it. The sleepless nights, the long days, the incessant whining, the never-ending time/love/attention that our kids demand. Best piece of advice I ever got was right after my kid was born. A friend told me that almost every mom thinks about shaking her baby. Ninety-nine percent of them would never, EVER do it. Nobody ever mentions that. But you know why acknowledging that feeling makes them good moms? Because talking about it and being truthful to yourself makes them sane. Because they love their kid enough to know that they need to put them in a safe place, walk away until they can go back calm and collected.

Hello, my name is MP.
I am a Mom Rager.

2 comments:

  1. I have mom rage too! Any mom would be a liar if she said she didn't. Thanks for telling the truth. I admire that:)
    Love Tawnia

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  2. I love that you mention that every mom thinks of shaking her baby. Hubby and I always wondered how that happened until we had little miss. Now we understand that when the child is alone and locked in her room crying, there is a reason the adult has left the room. ;)

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