Monday 23 May 2011

I can only be self-less for so long

We had our neighbours and their grandkids over for a play date this week. And when Jennifer (the grandma) thanked Deaglan for letting them play on “his” swing set he responded with “My Daddy built my swing set for me.”

Now, I am nothing if not magnanimous, but I prickled at my son’s comment. Because while I’m the first to generously acknowledge all that my husband gives to our family, I had a good mind to set the child straight.

Yes, Daddy did “build” the swing set. But it was only after Mommy searched and searched kijiji ads for weeks, investigating at least 15 used play-scapes until she found just the right one. Then after a gruelling day at work, she drove her eight month pregnant self out to the country with a cranky, hungry toddler fresh from daycare to inspect it. Once she confirmed that it was in good shape, she tucked her shame into her back pocket and haggled the owners down one hundred dollars from the asking price. Knowing her work had only begun, she next created what can only be considered a small business case to present to your swing-set building hero, whose immediate reaction was to find twenty seven reasons we didn’t need it. But your mother pointed out just as many reasons (and all of them had to do with you) we did.
Then your good-for-nothing mother who, by the way, was busy building you a brother, a life-time friend, someone you will be able to rely on to always gang up on your father and me; well she worked at organizing the use of a truck big enough to carry the swing set home in pieces. And still, once the truck was borrowed, she had to gently coax your father through the entire process because it was rainy and windy which worked to further resist his efforts to have yet another child’s toy crowding his backyard.

Not that I’m bitter.

It’s bad enough that Santa takes all the credit at Christmas.


We took 244 pictures this past long weekend. It was a gloriously sunny fun-filled few days.
Although Naveen won't be one for a week still, we celebrated his big day twice.

I’m pouring my heart out with Shell.

25 comments:

  1. Ah, a mother's lot in life ... I keep telling myself that my kids will realize it eventually ;-)

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  2. Hahahaha.... This is pretty hilarious. Poor you. Unfortunately, I think you will have many, many thankless years ahead of you. BUT, eventually, they will "get" it, and once they do, they will be forever grateful :-)

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  3. Yup, first of MANY unacknowledged, self-less acts of mommyhood! Not to make you feel worse, it's been 18 years and I'm still waiting for them to 'get it'! I'll continue to wait, not so patiently...lol!

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  4. It's all down hill from here. I love these posts. You articulate your every emotion so beautifully.

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  5. Mommy's hardwork typically gets overlooked, doesn't it? ;)

    Your boys are beautiful!

    Have a great week! :)

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  6. Mothering is such an invisible and thankless job sometimes that we just have to stand up and shout our achievements at the top of our lungs. I hear you!

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  7. Such is the lot of the mother! I LOVED your conclusion! :)

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  8. This would really annoy me as well but I have to say, my 6-year-old knows who really gets things done around here. She'd never make the same mistake.

    Oh Kim...I want a perfect ponytail like yours. I fear it will never happen for me though. :( Gorgeous picture!

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  9. One can never take too many photos of the kids, especially when they are tiny like now.

    Happy early birthday to Naveen. I hope he is allowing you more sleep.

    And you don't have to be self-less around us.

    I love that photo of you and Naveen - glorious.

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  10. I love your sense of humor Kim! But I know how you feel too. I truly believe that when it comes to our kids, we have selflessness hard wired into our brains-but someday they will appreciate what we have done for them. Now training a husband...that takes a whole lot more work;)

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  11. The thanklessness of being a mother! I'm learning what that means every day! You did a beautiful thing for your boys! They'll thank you for it when they're older.

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  12. I hear ya Mama. Daddy gets all the glory in my house too. So not fair! Thanks for visiting me today:)

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  13. Motherhood is definitely a thankless job! I spent weeks pouring over the internet researching trampoline safety and trying to find a really great one at a good price with lots of safety features. So I finally found one, after convincing my husband it was a good idea, we picked it up. He put it together and the kids spent 3 hours jumping on it that first night, while screaming, "Daddy's SO awesome for getting us this trampoline".

    Yeah, whatever....as I broke open the bottle of wine.

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  14. :-D Love it. A thankless job at times...but one day he'll get it! Or at least...his wife will.

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  15. Stopping by from Shell's PYHO. Boy ain't that the truth! Mom's never get any of the credit when it's due. But we are the first ones they run to when they are hungry or tired, or sick or need a hug! The fun stuff though, Dad gets all the credit!! You should save this and show it to him when he has kids of his own!

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  16. Doll face!!! I so understand. If Daddy doesn't get the glory Santa and the Easter Bunny do. Our work for now, goes mostly unnoticed..but someday, we'll be held at Queen level, I promise!

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  17. HAHA! We are all so under appreciated. Daddy comes home and gets all the credit here too! I'm with ya, sista!!

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  18. Happens all the time to us moms!

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  19. THank you for stopping by my blog today. I am now following you back. Mom's never get the credit they deserve. You rock and one day your kids will acknowledge that! Beautiful pics by the way

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  20. As much as I love my hubs . . . I CAN'T STAND IT when he gets all the credit for the work that I do. :) That said, I am thinking that eventually the kids will get it. Like in 30 or 35 years.

    PS Thanks for stopping by to see me today!

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  21. I know that's right. You say it sister!!! Mommas...we rock!

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  22. Darn dads get all the credit!!

    The swing looks like great fun. (Would you like to find me one? I'll let my own husband built it.)

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  23. oh ain't it the truth! my friend says you work yourself to death at Christmas and a fat man in a red suit gets all the credit. same here, with dad getting the credit at home - only i cannot imagine why as he has them perfectly trained to come to me for everything!

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  24. I sure know that feeling!! I'm the bad guy lately around here, even though Grant seems to do most of the sleeping!!!

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