That Mummy… Yep, the One That Embarrasses Her Kid

We’ve all had them. Those moments when we look at our kids and think “just grow up already”! And equally as often do we think “Please… Slow it down. Just stay my baby forever.” It’s like a never ending trudge to the inevitable. And my inevitability is towards being the embarrassing mum.

Yep. You know it. It’s gonna happen. We felt like that towards our parents and history repeats. There is just no way around it. We recently finished a week of school holidays and there were many interesting incidents that made me feel quite keenly that I was on my way towards being THAT embarrassing mum. I felt this so much that I actually sat down with darling daughter (now 9) and had a full conversation with her.

Image by Karl Fredrickson from unsplash.com

Me: What is it that embarrasses you about me.

Her: You embarrass me when you come into my room without knocking. You embarrass me when you tease me in front of my friends. You embarrass me when you hug me. The way you dance embarrasses me. You embarrass me when you ask me and my friends to take our dishes to the sink…

I could go on but you get the message. Parents can be the biggest embarrassment in a child’s life. But I’m quite sure this only happened to my parents when I was older! And for a very, very limited time. I am sure of it!

So seeing as there is no way around it, I’ve decided to embrace this part of our lives that we are heading into. If I am to be THAT embarrassing mum, I am going to be the BEST embarrassing mum EVER.

I am going to make it a point to give her a huge hug (and wet sloppy kiss) in front of all her friends whenever I can.

I’ll always try to take a turn when she’s playing Just Dance with her friends.

If I’ve got her friends in our car, I will talk to them the entire way, finding out as much information as I can about everything and freely offering my two cents worth.

I’m going to show up at every soccer game or netball game and scream and yell encouragement from the sidelines.

Image by Markus Spiske from unsplash.com

When there’s a playdate going on, I’ll remember to set my watch and barge in on them unannounced at least every hour.

The morning after a sleepover, I’ll make sure they have to make their own breakfasts and clean up after themselves.

When I’m out with her, I’m going to grab her hand and and hold it. Just because I love to.

At a movie, I’m going to insist on sitting right next to her so I can cry and grab her hand when I’m scared or emotional, share her popcorn and wipe my tears on her shirt.

I will be at every play or show she’s in with camera, video, phone and I will proudly post them to my private social media pages.

I’m going to take as many photos and videos as humanly possibly so that I have something to show when she least expects it.

Yes, I am going to be THAT mum. The one that shows up. Every. Single. Time.

Image by Jenn Richardson from unsplash.com