Life as I know it

Today I found myself inspired by the old movie "Overboard."  Was I inspired to go yachting or have my closet redone a la Hawn and Russel?  Nope.  I was inspired to vacuum the breakfast table just like Goldie.  Yes.  That's right, I vacuumed the table.  I had already vacuumed the floor and forgot to wipe down the table first, so up goes the vacuum wand.  Magic!  Why don't I clean the table this way every day?

I used to think that scene in the movie where Goldie Shop-Vacs the Cheerios and food out of the bowls and off the table was so outrageous.  Now, I just think it is practical.  I got to thinking about all of the things parents do that I used to think were bizarre and just plain over the top.  Now I understand.  No one actually wants to roll with 16 bags, strollers, toys, and port-a-cribs.  You just have to.   You become complacent, telling yourself that in a few years you won't have to haul all this crap with you and everything will be better.  No one tells you that you, of course, that even though you won't be hauling the baby stuff, you will be hauling big kid stuff--which isn't much of a trade off.

I find it amusing/annoying to watch Patrick struggle with something being spit/spilled/leaked on him.  He freezes and demands a wipee and carefully cleans and then sanitizes.  To think that he has time to sanitize!  I used to sanitize.  Now I realize that I spent a lot of time cleaning and cleaning to no real end as the mess makers never stop working.  I used to freeze when someone spit up on me, but now I don't skip a beat.  It just gets wiped away and onto the next mess to take care of.   I just understand now that all of my clothes will find their way into the washer each day (thank God for OxiClean and Zout).  Somehow being home with the kids has led me to an understanding that he will never arrive at.

I think the word I am searching for is desensitization.  It's how soldiers can become accustomed to the ins and outs of wartime deployment.  It also explains how Melania Knauss can wake up every day next to "the Donald" and his hair and not run for the first divorce attorney's office she can find.  Desensitization allows us to be the mothers that we never thought we would be.  And that's a good thing!