So this other day I had had it up to here with the one word that keeps being shouted in my home- and probably in yours too: mum! Then I thought, oh wait, this IS a good thing: these people can’t do without me LOL! That made me smile, and drove the blues away. Just the thought of the amount of juggling I do at home convinces me that being mum is my superpower!
Multitasking
This is one superpower that most, if not all, women have. Let’s face it, who can bathe the kids, clean the house and cook, ALL at the same time? Mum!
I am not sure whether it’s because I have been doing it longer than my husband or what, but I certainly do it best😍. I can switch between tasks, and have them all done equally well. My husband can do one task at a time, and do it equally well too. Just that there will be 9 others left, and no time to do those as well!
Organization
Multitasking on a sub-level is wrapped in organization. Depending on the cook time of foodstuffs on the menu, I will start with the dish that takes the longest such that at the end of my cooking everything is ready at the same time. That means I map my tasks before starting, saves me a lot of time. Planning.
And it’s not only in cooking, I can organize the types and times for activities in the home. I am a pen-and-paper girl, but I also rely heavily on my calendar app – even for the smallest of activities/appointments. Ticking things off a list helps me to prioritize and get things done. Yes, being mum is, indeed, my superpower!
Judge and jury
I am called to be the judge and jury in my kids’ tiffs, and most times I do it by keeping mum. They have to learn to deal with their differences, and I just come in for the big cases. Because ‘mum’ is their favorite word, I have picked up a favorite of my own: go and tell daddy 🤣.
Finder of lost things
My daughter reminds me so much of my younger self; she just can’t locate things. Even when they are right in front of her! That job calls for…yes, you guessed it! MUM! I do it grudgingly though 😒. But then being mum is my superpower; I will show up even when I don’t feel like it. If I don’t, it’s still my baby (both of them technically), so 🤷♀️.
Cook
If you hear my kids praise my cooking you would think I was a MasterChef. That means the world to me, because these are the people I cook for the most. Yes, most of the time I will be cooking too😁! I mean, these “caterpillars” can eat, and time flies by so much. After breakfast, there’s lunch to think about; and dinner, hot on the heels. In between, some other activities need doing, too.
My cooking doesn’t start and end at the stove or microwave or rice cooker; it includes the budget, meal plans, improvisations, grocery shopping. How is that for a superpower?!
I love it when dad cooks, but it’s painful to watch; the impulse to chip in and help will be so strong! There will be pandemonium in the kitchen: used plates and cutlery everywhere, a dish almost done before some needed vegetable has been cut, relish almost finished before the starch has been started! But I tell you when I sit down to eat, that food would be so delicious I will be asking for tips how he did it!
Should I talk about how long it takes him to do the dishes vs. when I do it? I am sure you get the picture 😜, but then, this is not a competition (says the loser!).
Nurse
I am naturally a light sleeper, but I hardly sleep when the kids are ill. Although dad is their buddy for games, when they are sick they cry for mum. Not only for the annoying colds and flus but also the hard-to-see scraps they encounter when they are playing. The master medicine for that is a little rub of Vaseline and a ‘ooh my poor baby’ coo and they are off to play again!
As I was writing this post my toddler needed some emotional healing. I had to put everything down and just hold him, believing he would nod off in no time. Didn’t happen! Any other time I would have lamented my lost time, but no. Being mum is my superpower; if the cubs want some loving, mama bear’s here!
Distinguishing voices
In a room full of babies every mother can distinguish her baby’s cry. Although I can go through all names, sometimes even my siblings’, before I call a child by the right one; I can even tell who sneezed or whose footfall it is I hear in the passage. And even their voices! Sort of.
I am claiming this superpower with a pinch of salt because my toddler can now distinguish voices better than me. We were even commenting with the dad how our two eldest (8yo girl and 5yo boy) now sound so similar.
So this other day these two were in a different room from where I was with the youngest. One of them made a funny sound, which I attributed to the girl. My youngest then said it was the boy. I was sure I was right, until the child spoke in their normal voice, and I realized I have now lost that superpower to one with a keener ear!
“Mum, mum, look at me!”
Being a mum is my superpower for sure, my kids think I have eyes everywhere! Never mind what I am doing, but when one wants to do what they deem an awesome flip or split or funny face, mum has to look 😁. My affirmation of their efforts means so much to them, they feed off it.
Disciplinarian and comforter
Now this oxymoron type of thing is hard for me to understand. I play the seemingly opposite roles of disciplining and comforting. I am not a permissive mum, and can be firm using only a few words, or a look. But discipline has to be instilled, and they know it’s coming from a place of love. The thing that touches my heart the most is that when I have told them off they go out of their way to be on my good side again. I laughed one day when my daughter reminded her brother who was misbehaving, “You know mum doesn’t joke, stop it!”
Teacher
Teaching my kids has been my greatest joy. Mixed bag of emotions actually: excitement, frustration, anger, inadequacy, contentment, accomplishment!
It is from this that all other attributes hang. I never knew I could multitask like that, teaching two active children, with a toddler hanging from my hip sometimes. I never knew I could be judge and jury, finder of lost things, cook, nurse, distinguish voices, and teacher AND rock at it all. This stint with homeschooling has made me realize that being mum is my superpower!
