Overheard: The boy and his grandma get ready for ni-ni

My mother, taking care of Lil E, hands the boy his toothbrush all pasted up.

Lil E: Grandma! No! That's mommy's toothpaste, not mine.

Grandma, scraping it off and replacing it with that Little Bear swallow-able dollap-able grape grossness: Oh no!

Lil E: Mommy's toothpaste is so yucky!

Grandma: I know! I noticed that when I was staying here the other night. Why do you think she uses that stuff?

Lil E pauses, shrugs his shoulders, concludes decisively: I guess mommy just likes yucky things.

Apparently, this was one of those realization moments, like the kind I had when I was twelve when it suddenly occurred to me my own mother did not in fact have the most melodic voice in church.

Like the kind my mom had a few months ago when she gazed in horror then bored disbelief as I lectured her about the brazen lack of anything nourishing in baby oil. 

This is what happens, I guess, in the long and winding road of parenting. We just realize we're human and fragile and have penchants for yucky things.

What can we do, we nasty toothpaste, off-key voiced, baby oiled mamas, but shrug our shoulders and keep on brushing?

Comments

[Ms. Single Mama]

You're right - we just have to suck it up. Especially when we're single moms! I had to pick up a worm the other day ... a worm!

My son is 2.5 - glad I found your blog!