by M.R Vavala

Created on: April 25, 2008

Just One Day...

So, when you made that conscious or maybe not so conscious decision to become a parent- did you ever think of all the things you would suddenly lose?

No. Neither- did I. I was too busy planning my perfect pregnancy. How wonderful I would look and feel. How simple, uncomplicated and pain free the labour would be. How easily I would lose the baby fat, and- how perfect the baby would be. I mean, after all it was a baby, and didn't all babies just sleep, feed, sleep, feed, sleep, sleep, sleep?

Now, doing it one time, you may be forgiven to thinking all this is true. But- here was I who did it four times, always hoping that this time, would be the time it would be all so different. Hmmm....How wrong, wrong, wrong was I?

This particular morning, as opposed to any other morning, I sat in the lounge room with my cup of very strong coffee, and my youngest child watching, "The Backyardigans". It was five in the morning, not particularly early, I know- but even another hour would maybe have made me feel less like a walking corpse. Forget the bags under the eyes, I think mine had unpacked and settled in forever.

It had been a most tiring week. The dreaded Gastro virus had pervaded my sterile home and coupled with my youngest suffering from Asthma, and that too wreaking havoc, my sleep was contained on a good night to half an hour blocks, followed by cleaning up vomit that had narrowly missed the carefully placed bucket, and relaying the bed with clean bed sheets. That dreaded sneaky vomit had landed anywhere but in the bucket!

I had already hung up one load that I naively thought would be the only bed I would have to change that night, and another five loads were sorted on the laundry floor, while the machine-washed the second bed casualty of the previous evening. Ahhh..Life was great!

So, with the entire coastline of sand grazing my already sensitive eyeballs, I contemplated motherhood and wondered why none of these things was ever mentioned to women, or were they conveniently forgotten? Before I had time to think any further, I heard the determined steps of little feet and tried to work out from which direction they were coming from, to tell which other of my other three children was joining the early bird club.
"Can I have some milk?" Ahhh...child number three.
"How about I bring it to you in bed, honey? It's still very early."
"No, I want it here." Growl...of course you do.

By six thirty, I had hung out four loads of washing, fixed two beds, washed and dressed

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