Tag Archives: Parenting

Before I was a Mom

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This is also from my previous blog and here I write it’s from a yahoo group I used to be part of (no longer as I don’t have the time). Update: I found a link here and the link has some more updates on the original author

Before I was a MOM

Before I was a Mom
I made and ate hot meals.
I had unstained clothing.
I had quiet conversations on the phone.

Before I was a Mom
I slept as late as I wanted
And never worried about how late
I got into bed.
I brushed my hair and my teeth everyday.

Before I was a Mom,
I cleaned my house each day.
I never tripped over toys
or forgot words to lullabies.

Before I was a Mom,
I didn’t worry whether or not my
plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom,
I had never been pooped on,
Spit up on,
Chewed on,
Peed on,
Or pinched by tiny fingers.

Before I was a Mom,
I had complete control of myself;
My thoughts,
My body,
And my mind.
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held down a screaming child
so that doctors could do tests or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn’t
want to put it down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces
when I couldn’t stop the hurt.
I never knew something so small could affect my
life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom,
I didn’t know the feeling of having my
heart outside my body.
I didn’t know how special it could feel
to feed a hungry baby.
I didn’t know that bond between a
Mother and her child.
I didn’t know that something so small
could make me feel so important.

Before I was a Mom,
I had never gotten up in the middle of
the night every ten minutes to make
sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth,
The joy,
The love,
The heartache,
The wonderfulment,
Or the satisfaction of being a Mom.

I didn’t know I was capable of feeling so
much before I was a Mom.

And for anyone who’s not yet heard the mom song, here it is:

What Kind of a Parent am I?

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Ever since I started blogging here regularly, I’ve been reading a lot of blogs. This is good, because for me, reading sparks my writing.

I like to read parenting blogs a lot because hey, last time I looked, I am a parent! I’ve read a lot about helicopter parenting and this is something I am intrigued about, not so much as because I am one, but because I tend to move between being a helicopter parent and then on to the other spectrum of the scale.

So what exactly is a helicopter parent? It is one who hovers around their kid and who takes extreme interest in their activities. An extreme example could be someone who does not allow their child to take one breath without they or someone they trust making sure they are ok. We have many such examples here in Singapore and most parents here are what is locally called kiasu, the degree of kisauness varies.

BlogHer has a good blog about this, which is funny but at the same sad, very sad! Is that what our future’s are going to look like? I can already see BB & GG recoiling away in horror!

So what kind of a parent am I? Like I mentioned earlier, I tend to fluctuate between two extremes. I am very particular that BB & GG do well in their studies and tend to hover around them for that. I don’t really look at this as helicopter parenting (no, really, I don’t), but more of the fact that this world they live and will grow up in is extremely competitive and if they do want to have a good life in the future, education is the way to go. I am also very protective of them – I do not let them go down and play on their own without a responsible adult there or go anywhere out of sight of me or someone I trust, be it at home or outside. I am quite paranoid about the fact that you have many sexual predators lurking around you and unlike the States, we do not have such lists on line for parents to protect their children. So they have to be within sight of me at all times, especially when we are out of the house, except for the times they are in school or in some class.

On the other hand, I would like them to grow up a bit strong, so I am not too particular about a few germs here and there, I feel that a few germs will make you stronger and to me that is a good thing. I also prefer they fight their own battles and so will not interfere unless it degenerates into a fight.

So what kind of a parent are you? I’d love to hear from you, post your views in the comments section.