Since I’m a clandestine “stay-at-home-mom” (after a full year of devoting every day to my adorable little girl, when asked, I still claim I’m a writer first-before a mom. As if that’s my sole-responsibility, which, in all honesty, would have to be my adorable little girl.) So, I admit I have a hard time with the identity thing—yes I’m still writing (and speaking) but most day’s I’m just mommy.
Anyway, (slight identity crisis in-process) since I do spend all day with my little girl, you’d think that I’d seen everything that little squirt did in a day! Although she’s an adorable squirt, it still doesn’t change my bafflement over today and the new insight I've gained into Sophia World.
The first incident happened just as Nate, Sophia and I were finishing dinner. I casually asked Nate to clean Sophia up, so that she could get down from her high-chair and the colorful remains of her dinner. Which as usual, had become modern art on table and child. Without even thinking twice, Nate nodded, leaned over the innocent Sophia and opened his mouth wide. “Ahhhhhhh!” He said as my lively, though compliant child, proceeded to stick her hands INTO his mouth one after another so that he could “lick the platter clean” so to speak! I was shocked not only by the utter barbaric act, but that it had obviously become a comfortable ritual somehow when I wasn’t looking! I'm afraid my dismay was lost on the two of them especially since I couldn't stop laughing at the sincerity of their little routine. (Careful to anyone who opens their mouth wide around Sophia! She may think your a hand-cleaning machine!)
As if that wasn’t enough to make a mother scratch her head (remind you I’m with the child almost 36 hours a day—well sometimes it feels like it) This evening, as I stopped by Nana & Papa’s to retrieve, said child, after a brief interlude into adult world that we parents like to refer to as “a date.” My father asked me if I’d had Sophia call him today? “What do you mean?” I asked innocently, I was still under the vague impression that I knew what my child did during the day (after all we never even left the house!) My father began to describe a conversation he’d had with Sophia after SHE called their house and babbled very creatively for several minutes until he assumed she lost interest with the phone and wandered off. Incredulous as I was to my daughter’s conversational abilities, there was no mistaking the call listed in the outgoing file of my cell phone. It was at that moment that I had to admit my family including my one-year old were making it very clear that—even for a stay-at-home-mom. . .there's obviously enough room in my life—for a life.
Oh and if any of you receive a call from Sophia--have her take a message--I must be busy. . .writing!
