Tuesday, July 21, 2015

I Scream, You Scream.

As the full-time caregiver for my little tot, I don't always get to play the nice guy. In fact, in the game of good cop vs. bad cop I'm usually the latter. I know this because at 7:15 a.m. when my son is gleefully screaming "ICE CREAM!" from his car seat, I tell him no, only to hear his father sneaking him a spoonful when he gets home from work and whispering, "don't tell mom."

I'm not sure where this ice cream obsession came from but I do know he learned that word in about two seconds flat (although he still can't say 'meow' - I guess that's just priorities).  The only word he may have learned quicker was "Avengers," go figure. His love of ice cream started in utero. I, who rarely indulged in a scoop and much prefer cake or cookies when picking a treat, found myself craving ice cream constantly. It's no surprise that after his first taste of the frozen sweet, he rarely ever asks for anything else to eat.

Because I stay home with my son, I cannot give in to every request he has, no mater how adorable he is. If it were up to him, he may never eat anything other than ice cream and applesauce, which probably isn't the best diet to support a healthy nutritional profile, especially at the ripe age of 20 months.

That being said, I take every opportunity I (responsibly) can to be the fun mom. The mom who feeds the motorized helicopter at the mall quarters so my son can take a 60-second ride after picking up diapers at Target. He may scream later when I say no to his every request for Curious George cartoons, but at least I have that moment to hold on to - the one where he smiled gleefully for an entire minute and must have thought "wow I have the best mom on earth for letting me ride this awesome helicopter."Although, he was probably just thinking "COOL! I wonder if I can ride the train next."

I decided to up my cool mom game after a long day of work. My son had spent the day with his grandparents and I was missing my tiny sidekick. His grandparents inevitably spoil him tirelessly but knowing they rarely keep ice cream in the house, I knew they were probably turning down every gleeful request he made just as I do day-in and day-out. So, on my way to pick him up I stopped by to grab a kid's scoop of vanilla from the local Baskin Robbins. I smiled the whole way home knowing I'd be the hero that day.

And sure enough, as soon as I flashed that little pink cup, my son was joyful for my arrival (he usually hides and yells NOOOOOOO when my husband or I show up because he doesn't want to leave nana and papas' house). I relish those moments when I get to win. When I get to be the cool parent who comes home with ice cream.

As he plowed through that tiny cup, smiling between bites and brain freezes, it felt good to have a win. Another, "well, my mom isn't always a tyrant" moment for my son. Although he was probably just thinking, "but do I have to leave nana and papas' after this?"

-N.