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I love a fizzy, frothy glass of champagne. But not for its taste, and not because it goes oh-so-well with strawberries (it does!). I love champagne because it’s FUN.
I think moms need guilty pleasures. One of my favorite things on a quiet night alone (kids at grandma’s, husband working late – joy!) is to pour a glass of merlot, pop some microwave popcorn and watch a tearjerker Lifetime movie. The movies are terrible (seriously, “Fifteen and Pregnant,” does it get worse than that?) and we all know there is NO nutritional value in Pop Secret. But, oh what a fun night in!
That’s what champagne is to me: fun. It’s unnecessary. It’s frivolous. It’s the opposite of what my life means as a mom. And that’s why I need it from time to time.
I loved reading Sue Robins’ column on Huffington Post called “The Invisible Mom.” It’s so true! Sometimes, I am sure my kids only use me for my hands to untie knots in their jump rope or to jam a straw in a juice box. I’m pretty sure they don’t care about how my day went at work, but they sure know where to find me when it’s time to fix a snack! I am their mode of transportation and their gatekeeper to the TV. I am the permission-giver when they want to play with a friend and the phone-dialer when they want to call Grandma. Most days, I’m a tool to get them what they want and need. And I’m okay with that. I love that they’ll remember that it was mom’s feet that walked them to the mailbox or mom’s hands that dried their tears.
But being invisible to my family is my motivation to NOT be invisible to myself.
I need to know that even though I’m dressed prim and proper in a button-up shirt for work, I have the loudest, most obnoxious pair of undies under those sensible camel-colored slacks. I need to turn up the radio and sing out loud to No Doubt and remember that at one time I elbowed my way to the front of a concert crowd and that Gwen sweated on me. You hear that, world? Gwen sweated on me!
I need a glass of frivolous, irreverent, superfluous, utterly un-sensible champagne! Fizzy, bubbly, pairs-with-nothing sparkling wine!
What say you, readers? What’s your guilty pleasure? What reminds you what your name is, other than Mom?
