Its All Your Fault, Mom

Mothers and daughters.  It's like the North vs. the South.  Both from the same country, but yet at such odds that one never knows which side of the coin is going to be facing up at the end of the battle.

Apparently, in addition to sweating during the hot summer months, pregnant and in a perpetual state of heartburn,  enduring the birth of an exceptionally large baby, having an episiotomy and then deciding not to breastfeed, thereby having engorged breasts for the better part of 2 months, I have been informed that I am a lousy mother.  "Lousy" is not the absolute verb my first born used, but we get the meaning.  That was 27 years ago - well the birthing part. The "lousy" state of being has been on going since then.

My dear grandmother told me about the lack of education reading manuals regarding child rearing.  Maybe this is because being a parent of perfection is about as successful as pulling a rabbit out of your rear end.  Now, that's a magic trick I would really pay big bucks for.  Suffice it to say, I have not read nor found the "How to" Guide of Maternal Perfection.  I did spend quite a of time at Zuma Beach as a teen, soaking up the sun, so perhaps I missed the day when Perfect Parent was taught at school.

What I do have to look forward to, just as I suspect my own Mom did, is the day my daughter, the labor of my loins, gives birth to her own child and the cycle of generational gratitude goes forth.  With the birth of my daughter's baby, we will have 5 generations of hard headed kinfolk, who know everything - actually, who 'THINK they know everything.  The mantra of "I told you so", or "wait til you have a child just like you", will come to fruition.

I don't claim to have the answers for everything.  I used to think I knew what came after "A" but later realized I was wrong.  I do, however, know one thing for sure.  A mother NEVER STOPS LOVING HER CHILDREN.  My daughter and I may be at odds at the moment, but with her being pregnant and me facing menopause, I am surprised the the Earth has not slipped off its axis.  I can attest that my son and husband are scratching their heads, trying to figure out how to manage the females in their lives.   Even my own brother has not escaped the wrath of hormonal musings.  I think he caused his cell phone to "out of service range" yesterday when I started sobbing.

One good thing out of this whole mess is the lack of appetite and severe nausea that has befallen me.  I can have sympathy morning sickness with my pregnant daughter.  My question is:  When is the second trimester going to end?