Copernicus had it all wrong. Obviously, I am the center of the universe.
What else would explain my eight year old daughter climbing into the middle of our huge, king sized bed, and squishing her body so completely next to mine that I am in danger of plummeting off the edge?
Lily and Emmy are drawn to me. No matter where I go, they are soon behind. There must be invisible threads pulling them toward me. They can be totally absorbed in something, but as soon as I go into the bathroom for a moment of privacy they become disoriented. MOMMMM! Where are you?
They always find me.
Making sure everyone is happy, I get in the shower. As soon as I have a nice, bubbly lather in my hair, I hear screaming. MOMMMMM! Lily isn’t being nice to me!
I’m banishing them to the far corners of the globe when I ask them to play in their bedrooms, begging them to give me some space. But Mom, why do we have to play UP THERE? They don’t even realize that once they get older, their bedrooms will become their havens. They will need to go slam the door and escape from Mom for hours. Mom, who will be old and needy and who just doesn’t understand.
Those days haven’t come yet, however. When I’m in the kitchen making dinner, they soon appear, getting underfoot as I stir the stew. When I’m in the basement doing laundry, they are at the top of the stairs, demanding my attention. When I dash outside to put a trash bag in the garbage can, their little noses press against the screen door, wondering why I ventured outside WITHOUT THEM.
Around the same time every day, however, their orbit is suddenly shifted. The garage door goes up. The side door opens, and suddenly, the strings attached to me snap.
“DADDY!” they cry, running to jump on him.
Then as soon as he disappears for a couple of minutes, they are abruptly back in my orbit.
Their little arms automatically go around my neck. Their legs curl around my waist. Their sweet chubby cheeks fit next to mine. Their love warms me like rays from the sun.
Perhaps I am not the center of the universe after all.
My two little suns
I’m linking this post up to the Yeah Write challenge, where we are reminded to read books, read more books, and to take a long break from reading blogs by people who don’t read books.
This post was inspired by the book I’m currently reading: A Discovery of Witches, by Deborah Harkness. The main character is a scholar of the history of science. Click the button above to read more blog posts by people who do read books, starting on Tuesday. Then go back on Thursday to vote for your favorite five.
What a lovely post. I hope they are still sleeping right now at least! I don’t think that ever completely goes away. I may not be a mommy but I am a daughter and still harass my mom!
Ha! One of them does happen to be up right now! She is my early riser. The youngest is still sleeping, and I hope she sleeps for another hour or so! Otherwise we will have a cranky 5 year old on our hands.
I love how you still harass your mom! That's awesome. 😀
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Cute pic! I don't have kids, but I imagine that they're like cats – underfoot when you don't want them to be. Then ignoringyou when you want attention. 😛
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They especially like to ignore me when I tell them to clean their rooms! 😉
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oh you are definitely the center of their universe. enjoy that!!! 🙂
I'll take it now while I can! 😉
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What a great post! My cat, the Prince is sitting on my lap as I type this. He is attached to me by those same strings, I think!
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That is so cute! It's nice to be the center of someone's (or somecat's) universe. 🙂
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Oh, how this sounds familiar. . . except it's my wife, and not me, that gets the treatment you describe. There's something about Mommy that is irresistible. . . as my best friend says, "they didn't come out of us." True!
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Mommies are pretty irresistible! It is nice to be loved so much.
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Very sweet! And great picture! Both of my boys were total mamas boys. My husband used to joke that he was at the back of the bus (or maybe he was pluto).
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At certain times, my girls need their Daddy, but it seems like they need Mommy more often! Maybe that's just because I'm with them more, too.
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I hear ya, sister. My two girls are about to turn 2 and 4 and they are often attached to me like glue. Funny, my post this week also addresses the bathroom magnet…
Yes, the bathroom magnet! That's a good way of putting it!
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Awwwww…Don't hate me for saying this, but I miss those days. It's wonderful to feel so wanted, even if they do act like little stalkers much of the time when they're young. For the record, my 11-year-old still busts into the bathroom on a regular basis.
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I know in a few years I'm going to miss them being little very much! But there are other things to look forward to as well.
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Aww, what a cute picture! I sometimes wish I were that close with my kids when they were that young. I was home when they were in school and working in the evenings. Now I have a dog that is constantly by my side… he even waits at the bathroom door for me!
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Oh, that must have been hard to work when they were home! A friend of mine was closer to her Dad because he was retired and stayed home with her and her mom worked. She's close to her mom now, though.
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My youngest was the one who was always glued to me no matter what. For the oldest, I was chopped liver as soon as Dad walked in the door.
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Dads do have the advantage of being loved when they come home!
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Aww, I can tell that despite the annoyance you still treasure that love from them 🙂
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Oh, yes, I do treasure it!
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🙂 So cute 🙂 I can't wait to have kids some day and experience that kind of love. 🙂
The love of your kids is like nothing else! 😀
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Sweet post, and as the mom of two teenage boys, yes, those days do end, and they end up spending a lot of time in their rooms. And the bathroom.
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Yes, I think things will change…but hopefully they will always love their mom!
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AW! I love this. It's so sweet!! I miss those days!!
I adore the picture of all of you hugged in to each other. Love.
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Thanks! Part of the joys of blogging is looking back to days like this and remembering them. I look back at the posts I wrote when they were babies and am glad I wrote about them!
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I completely identify. And every time I just settle in to get something done and cringe when I hear "Mooooooom" from the other room, I try so hard to remember that very soon, some other female will be the center of his universe. Boohoo.
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Oh, I don't even want to think about that! I don't know how I'm going to react to boyfriends!
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Oh Ginny, live it up! I had one just like that and now he's thirteen and mortified by the sight of me. He calls me by my first name in front of his friends, lest they know he has a mother. Etc. He still loves me, but it's not in the way you're writing about. Just trust me: you'll have plenty of alone-time very soon.
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Oh, that awkward 13 year old stage! My brother outgrew that pretty quickly and started hugging my mom again. 😉 I do try to savor these days, most of the time!
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I know someday when we are in the middle of the teenage years and my kid wants nothing to do with me, I'll miss days like you just described. But now, sometimes, it would be so nice to finish a chore in one shot! I totally get you on this one!
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Yes, getting things done once they come home from school is impossible! But I do miss them when they are at school. It's hard being a mom!
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That is so precious. I'm 32 and there are still some days when only my Mommy will do. I hope your girls never lose that either.
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I know the feeling. I was close to my mom, and I hope my girls stay close to me, too!
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Yes. I totally understand. At this very second I'm practically crying for my 3rd grader to stop dragging out his homework so he can leave me alone! Then I realize, all he'll do is leave me alone soon. And I just want to keep him close. Even if he's driving me nuts.
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I know what you mean! Doing homework with my second grader is like torture some days!
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Hey I just finished "A Discovery of Witches!" Kids' need to be close is fundamentally heart warming and frustrating. I love that she wants to be close but man do I miss peeing alone.
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I just finished the book, and got the second one from the library! Did you read the second one? (I don't remember the name of it right now!)
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That is very sweet. When I travel and come home I get that sort of treatment from the kids, kind of makes you feel like a rock star.
Yes, being a rock star is a good feeling! Although I'll never be able to compete with Taylor Swift in this household. 😉
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Your girls are beautiful. The part where you describe being edged out of bed? That's what my 6yo son does to me too. lol He follows me and sometimes I step on his little toes and remind him not to follow so close behind or I might knock into him. He's a snuggler though and I love that. I'll take it for as long as it lasts. 😉
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