When I was 5 my mother left me at the Oak Street Pharmacy accidentally. She was preparing dinner, taking care of the four of us kids, one of whom was sick and needed medicine, and was trying to get us fed and out the door for my elementary school's holiday party that night. She was multitasking and forgot me. I was looking at the lollipops and couldn't find my mom. Because she had already gone home. The nice lady behind the counter called my house and asked my mom if she had forgotten something. "No, I have my checkbook," my mother replied. "Your daughter dear." My poor mother. Now that I have 4 children of my own I intimately know how this can happen.
So here are my two not-so-best mom moments so far. The ones that I can recall at least. Perhaps Josh will comment and remind me of additional highlights.
* I was so tired from a poor nights sleep that I accidentally feel asleep on the couch 5 minutes before Caroline's bus arrived. I awoke 25 minutes later and freaked out. Didn't know where my daughter was, as the school didn't have our brand new phone numbers. Frantically calling her elementary school while waking up Ryan and Jackson from nap to find out that my poor, sweet girl was sitting at the other elementary school in town. Threw the kids in the car, Ryan with no shoes on, Jackson wearing snow boots and shorts and flew over there. Rush through the lines of students pouring out of the school with Ryan and Jackson in tow. To find Caroline sitting in the front office, with a bunch of strangers to her, waiting for me to show up out of thin air. On the ride home she said she "just didn't look out of the window because all of the other mommies were there to pick up their kids, and mine wasn't." Yup, that one stings the most as a mom.
* I dyed my 6 month-old son's hair blonde. Really, I did. Ryan's head grew at an astronomical rate when he was a newborn that his head flattened out like a pumpkin on the back. So he had to wear a corrective helmet for 23 out of 24 hours a day for 9 weeks. Twice a day I would take it off to clean it with alcohol. Except that in my sleep deprived, distracted and newly pregnant brain I used hydrogen peroxide by accident. Hey, the bottles seemed similar in my cabinet. It did clean the germs on the helmet too. But one day I was rushing to make it to Ryan's 6 month well visit at the pediatrician. So I thought the helmet was dry before it was, and put it on his head. Twenty minutes later I took the helmet off for the nurse and realized that his hair had two big skunk stripes of blonde running down his hair. I was perplexed. Wondered if something was up with the lighting in the exam room? And then realized what I had done. Immediately came clean to the nurse and Dr. Jones, and started laughing at myself. The following week I came clean to the orthotist (the person who adjusted the helmet) and he laughed at me. Not surprising, I am the only one to have ever done that.
So, what are your top not-so-best parent moments? You know you have them. Or you will. Just you wait.
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