Becoming one of *Those* Moms...

Tonight, I ran out to the grocery store while Michael Sr went to bed early and baby Michael slept...

Though Michael has always been perfect at the grocery store and a good little shopping buddy, it is nice not having to play grocery jenga, piling things around his car seat (sometimes, I just don't feel like hauling him around in one of those baby carriers strapped to me. Hey, I did my time for 9 months, and Lord knows he ain't getting any lighter!)...so I just put his whole car seat in the basket and pile things around him. It's always fun when the checkers/baggers try to strategize where to put the groceries that are all bagged up.

So, going by myself has the benefit of just throwing everything in the cart and not worrying about Michael...and it is also kinda nice sometimes not having to make buying chicken broth sound like the most exciting thing in the world.

But as I was leaving, I saw a lady in the parking lot standing with a little girl, probably around Michael's age chatting with a lady.

I thought to myself bitterly:

Lady! It's 10:05!!! Get that poor little girl to bed!!!

Then my second thought was,

Oh goodness! I just did it! I'm becoming one those moms who judges all the other moms! Aack!!

I immediately felt bad for being so judgmental of that mom...and then my repentance turned towards self-pity:

I bet that baby sleeps soundly all day and sleeps through the night! I bed that mom can keep her baby up however late and it doesn't matter. Meanwhile, I have to bend over backwards, do a backflip and walk on eggshells to get a 30 minute nap from my boy, and if we're lucky, only two night wakings. Life's not fair!


Then I reflected once again on what a good boy Michael is when he's awake, even if he seems short on sleep and probably could stand a few more Zzzz's. Like today for instance, after Sunday Mass which was right during his naptime (he did snooze a little bit in Daddy's arms during the homily--Sorry Fr. Michael!), he was patient during the next 1.5 while I was at RCIA, and even tolerated without the slightest whimper, my delaying his lunch by 30 minutes...what a trooper. Where do I get off complaining?

But back to the mom in the parking lot....

Swiftly, my self-pity turned into pity for the little girl, because as I was getting in the car, I heard a long, loud, blood-curdling shriek come from her as she was being strapped into her car seat. She continued to cry for several minutes, in fact, I drove away and she was still crying. That kind of cry only comes from a tired kid who wants to cuddle up with her blankie in her warm bed.

Of course, that mom could have been out for any number of reasons...maybe she's visiting her friend and hardly ever keeps her out late....maybe that little girl just happens to go to bed later than Michael..I don't know...

Whatever the case, I feel somewhat ashamed of my judgment, but somewhat justified that maybe I was a little bit right when I heard that poor kid cry...and somewhat desperate (if folks didn't know how hard I tried, they might look at Michael and think I'm not doing enough to get him enough rest)...but all in all, A LOT grateful for my little boy, in all his Michael-ness. Crazy sleep patterns and all.