A Walking Cliche'

This is me... one giant walking cliche'... at least ever since Gus was born. Before having a child of my own, I had observed many parents acting in cliche' manners... crying at dance recitals, holding onto everything their child ever touched, and taking five billion pictures in an effort to hold onto their child's innocent years. Aside from the picture thing, I really did not envision myself as one of these parents. I was wrong!

From the moment this child entered my life, I have become a different person. In the first couple of weeks, as extreme sleep deprivation and crazy hormones brought on the baby blues, I cried every day for two reasons (and let me emphasize that I do not like to cry)... First, my mother was going to be leaving in a week. Ridiculous!?! I know! But after having Gus, I had a whole new appreciation for my mother, and I didn't know what I was going to do without her (Cliche' #1). And, second, every time I thought about Gus growing up and getting older, even by just a week, I would get so sad. The thought of my tiny, innocent baby getting bigger and more independent just tore my heart out (Cliche' #2)!

Luckily, my hormones leveled out after a couple of weeks, and my normal self returned... or so I thought. Although I finally feel like myself again, I have begun to notice a few subtle changes...

I have become extremely protective of my son... extremely protective. If you are even remotely sick, don't think about coming near him. You will only piss me off, and I will tell you not to touch him and to leave. Rude? Perhaps. But for some reason, it feels necessary. You're not the one dealing with a sick baby. I am. And, it rips my heart apart when he cries because he doesn't feel good (Cliche' #3).

Also, my new hobby is crying during commercials. Have you been watching The Olympics? Of course you have. So have I. And, one thing that I have noticed is that all of the commercials are aimed at moms. "Thank you mom for washing all of my hockey clothes, thank you mom for driving me to practice, thank you mom for taking me to the doctor to have my shattered bones put back together, etc." You get the picture. Well, all of these commercials make me cry! And the worst one of all is the preview for a new program on NBC called "Parenthood." It features the song "Forever Young," and it talks about how parenthood is too short. It gets me every time! I've become a total sap (Cliche' #4)!

Finally, and I'm sure there will be more examples, but for today, these are the only ones I'm willing to share... The other day, our iTunes started playing "In My Life" by The Beatles (one of my favorite songs). I was holding Gus, and we started to dance while I sang along to the song. Before I knew it, I could no longer sing along, and I had tears streaming down my face. Why? Well, this is the most embarrassing cliche' of them all. So, here goes... I suddenly pictured myself dancing to this song with Gus at his wedding, and I lost it! Pure insanity (Cliche' #5)!

This child has turned me into a ginormous walking cliche', and I'm not bothered by it at all. Who cares what people think or even what my old self would have thought! I'm a mom now, and I'll own it!

Gus, I would turn into a cliche' for you a million times over! You are my sun and my moon! I love you!