quasi-mom

Every July, James and I have the great blessing of spending the month with his daughter Emily (8) and a rotating nephew/niece. Last year we had Michael; this year we have Jacob (13). Although our month has just begun, it's really such an incredible experience to have, being the "adult-in-charge" of 2 growing kids. Whereas if J and I have are tight on the funds and decide our nightly meals will consist of chips & cheese and a 6 pack, you obviously can't do that with kids. You realize that maybe Family Guy is not really appropriate, even though it's cartoon, and that getting someone to brush their teeth can actually be a 30 minute ordeal.

But overall, it's a wonderful thing to experience. I learn so much. You must carry something to drink with you and a snack at all times, no matter how old they get (case in point, Mom still carries slim fast snack bars for Lin and I!). You must have crayons, coloring books (and Emily's particular obsession) rocks in your bag in case of instantaneous boredom.

I especially love the month of July because I get to see James as "daddy," and it makes me love him that much more. He talks about/to Emily all the time, and we see her as much as we can, but seeing him get to be a full-time dad for the entire month is pretty awesome.

Being a quasi-mom also makes me appreciate my parents SO much more, especially since 30 years hasn't gotten me much further from the nest than I was in say, the 7th grade. Well, maybe a little bit. About 12 miles. And I think about my dear friend Meredith, who just became a Mom for the second time, and how spectacular the whole process is. I mean you made somebody. How cool is that? How weird would be to have somebody walking around the planet with my penchant for smoking cigarettes WHILE chewing gum AND while drinking beer? I mean later on, of course. And I don't really do that any more. And I don't want my child to smoke. But I learned a couple of years ago my mom did that when she was younger and she saw me doing it and was like, 'How can THAT be genetic?' Or having a kid that had James's almost-scary ability to figure out how to fix absolutely ANYTHING? I think that's got to be such a cool thing. I'm in awe because I swear Ick has my personality, and he's a dog (shhhh! he doesn't know that!)

Then I remember what an absolute terror I was to my parents in high school (it was Sally's fault I swear!) or how Lin and I use to fight (she bloodied my nose on more than one occasion) and how scary the world can be, and how I like spending the night at my sister's when we drink too much, and even using the microwave can be a challenge for me sometimes, and I think, well....I could wait a little bit longer.....

But not much. Otherwise, I'll end up adopting another 3 dogs to fill that baby hole and Mom will take herself off my trusted dog-sitters list.