Once Upon a Time

The other day I did a cartwheel. Jaws dropped, eyes open wide and amazed gasps filled the air. Then I did another just to cement the fact that I could, turning and lifting my hands with a loud tah dah to my skeptics. We have all been subjected to those super surprised looks our kids give us when they see us do something that is beyond what they think our playbook holds. They are used to seeing us in the mother light. Fixing dinner and mopping the floor. They see us nurse them when they are sick and wipe their bums when they need us too. We discipline them for talking back or using naughty words but what they don't realize is that we have used those words and talked back ourselves. We actually had a life before they showed up. We went to school and had friends and braces and drama. We fought with our moms and missed curfew. We danced and played kick ball with our friends at recess. We cried over grades and learned to drive on a stick shift. As hard as it is for them to see past the mini vans and mommy jeans there is so much more.

My resume says more then wife and mother. The skills listed are many and detailed. The important thing is that my kids realize that we are whole people with loves and interests that are older then they are. Those skills from before shaped who we became as a mother. Hopefully when I am 70 and do a cartwheel they won't be surprised. Hopefully they will be totally aware that I have a lot of tricks up my sleeve.