The Thought of It

I came up with the idea that I would rather be their grandma but I definitely don’t look the part at 34,  not believable. What about their auntie? I could spoil them and not have to deal with the aftermath or the sugar crashes. I could love them but not have to discipline or nag. I could just be a favorite without doing anything I didn’t want to!

I went downstairs and announced. “Don’t call me Mom anymore. You can call me by my first name, Stephanie.” My husband looked at me as if I was crazy and totally inappropriate (I’d seen that look many times before). Someone said something upsetting to me so I said, "Okay I’m leaving" and headed to the garage my little one in tow. She asked if we could jump on the trampoline so I obliged. We giggled and jumped, ran and played Ring-Around-The-Rosies. It felt so good to leave the food out and the dishes behind. I didn’t have a care in the world, I was no longer a mommy, I was free.

We ended up with the whole family playing outside and when it got dark we didn’t let the party stop. We came inside and had a Dance Central battle. Then we played our own music and let all our inhibitions fly. We enjoyed each other and stayed up too late on a school night. But it wasn’t my place to say when it was bedtime, I was just auntie.