Everybody's Mama

OK, so by now anyone who reads this blog (and most of you know me, anyway) knows that I am mommy to a lovely 7 1/2 month old boy who I love to bits. I realized yesterday, though, that I am actually not only his mommy, but everyone else's mommy as well.

Not everyone in the world, of course. Just in my household. The revelation hit me as I was cleaning the laundry room yesterday. It's not usually a big job, but in this case I was cleaning up after a sick cat had been shut in there for 24 hours. I'll spare you the messy details here; I'll just say that it wasn't pretty. Though I wasn't happy to be doing the job, I felt bad for my poor puss, and I wasn't angry at him for making the mess. I had visions of future nights to be spent sitting up with my own little man when he gets sick, cleaning up his messes and comforting him as best I can. It was later, while holding a sterile baby-food jar under said cat's back end, waiting for a urine sample, that I realized that this goes way beyond having an animal. I have always thought of the cat, Charlie, as sort of a furry roommate, but the truth is, I am a kitty mommy. Is there a support group for that?

And it's not just the cat, folks. I'm dealing with sibling rivalry on a daily basis from a dog who should be almost developmentally mature (please, Lord, let him be almost grown-up!), but who still acts like an 80 lb. baby. He gets attention in any way he can, whether that means lying on the baby's blanket during floor-play time or digging into the garbage while I'm busy feeding the little man. He tries to sit in my lap whenever it's free, which leads to some awkwardness (and occasional bruising).

As for the hubby... well, he doesn't read this blog, but I'm still not going to go into that today. He's not as bad as the rest, but he needs a lot of attention, too, not to mention nutritious lunches and clean clothes. At least he can tell me he appreciates it!

So I guess I'm everybody's mama. And I kind of like it that way. Yes, the dog makes me want to kill him at least four or five times a day, but he does keep the bed warm at night when he cuddles me. And though I'm not particularly fond of inhaling cat-pee fumes, it was pretty rewarding when Charlie climbed up on the sink, put his paws on my shoulders and rubbed his head under my chin- kind of a kitty hug. I'm already getting rewarding smiles from my "real" baby, and I know that while the challenges will get bigger as he grows up, so will the rewards. And the hubby- well, I don't know if he notices everything I do for him, but he tries to return the favour and take care of me when he can, and that's good enough for me... most days!

PS- Charlie has a diary... I know, I'm a big geek. If you want to see him, he's at www.catster.com/?270662