Mommy Magic
Woman in the Middle | October 8, 2012Over the Labor Day weekend (which was over a month ago…my how time flies!) we opened up the barbecue and had some shish kabob and some corn on the cob off the grill. As I shucked that corn I remembered how HARD it was to shuck corn when I was a kid, or even a teen ager and how easy it is now. That got me thinking of other things that were hard then and easy now. One I particularly remember is Cracker Jack. I absolutely could not get those boxes open back in the day. Now no problem.
I remember being amazed when my mom shucked that corn or ripped open that box of Cracker Jack. When I did those things in front of my kids they were equally amazed! I call it “Mommy Magic” but, of course, it is really “Adult Magic.”
What Mommy Magic do you remember from your childhood?
I wouldn’t want to shuck all of that corn, and it doesn’t look like there is one bit of mommy magic in the room. Not a good situation!
Sorting socks and picking up toys. As an adult, I don’t spend time belly-aching about the chores because 1) who would listen? and 2) I would be complaining about myself. This has significantly reduced the completion time of many activities.
I didn’t require my kids to do a lot of chores growing up. I could get it done faster and it reduced the negitive interactions with my kids. When they were about 13 I taught them how to do their own laundry and they have done that ever since. It has served them well because when you move into the dorm the cafeteria feeds you but no one does your laundry! Besides, I hate doing laundry! I also had them empty the dishwasher, another chore I dislike with a passion! Everyone in the house is expected to put thir dirty dishes in the dishwasher. It has worked out fine. They aren’t lazy because I didn’t make them do a lot of chores. And, you know, it doesn’t take a book to know how to clean a toilet!!!
When I was a little kid my mom would use her hand to sweep the crumbs on the table into a nice, neat little pile. Once her pile was formed she would push the crumbs to the edge of table and sweep them over the edge into her waiting other hand which I never saw. I only saw the crumbs disappear over the edge.
One night I thought it would be a nice gesture to help her so I imitated her technique. I made my pile, swept it to the edge of the table and right over the edge onto the carpet. My mother saw the mess on the rug and wanted to know what happened. When I showed her she told me that she always keeps her hand there to catch the crumbs. Oops!
What a cute story! Mommy magic at its finest!
We were gardening together. My style was making a little hole with my trowel, dropping in one seed, covering it, and moving down a bit to dig the next one.
But not mom. She dug a long ditch, sprinkled a handful of seeds along the row and covered it all in one fell swoop.
Now I am enrolled in a Master Gardener program, and owe my interest in gardening to my mom.