"Look Mom..."

New Experiences

By Annie Jo Burt

Copyright © 2001 byAnnie Jo Burt.
All Rights Reserved.

"Mommy, Mommy, Look what I find!" My two and half year old son shouted upon his return to the side of the van. "Just a minute and I will look," I told him without even a single glance his direction. 

The trip down maybe had only been a five-hour drive, but with two kids in the van it seemed much longer. Having been out of the baby business for twenty years and out of practice, I was already at my wits end.

 What had I been thinking when these two pure delights had entered into my life? A need for a second chance at motherhood and hormones must have driven me to be temporary insane both times. I have done this before so I should be able to raise these two without being admitted for a nervous breakdown. 

"But Mommy!" My oldest son was now into whining and stomping his feet to grab for my full attention. A quick glance in his direction showed that no blood was present and he would just have to wait a few minutes longer. "Stop it! You are just going to have to wait until I get your brother out of his car seat. You have got to remember I only have two hands and they are busy with your brother right now." Each time I wanted to make sure he was reminded that indeed they were brothers. Both of them had the same Mother but different Fathers. The adoption agency had wanted to keep the brothers together, so at 50 years of age here I was a Mother to two young kids. 

About this time his Auntie Debbie, Auntie Bev, Uncle Colin and Auntie Jo had made their way to the van. Their cousin Rhonda was leading the group up the slight incline to where I had parked the van, newly acquired  to haul the kids in comfortably. 

"Oh let me have him?" Rhonda's arms already out stretched for the baby. Auntie Jo grabbed the diaper bag out of my hands and already had fallen in behind Rhonda on the precession back to the house. Auntie Bev was pinching cheeks and Uncle Colin was stroking the head full of hair and cooing soft baby words towards him. "Are you a good boy? Did you give your Mum a lot of trouble today?" 

Auntie Debbie stayed behind sensing my frustration at the older boy. "O.K. now what do you want to show me?" I tried to sound cheerful and carefree. After all, the baby was now out of my hands for a little while. After a quick examination all I saw was some hair matted, but other than that, just a little boy excited  to be down on his first real farm. He had listened very intently the whole trip about the sheep that Auntie Debbie now had and that he needed to stay away from the horses as they were way to big to be around because he was only two and a half years old.

 He had a good grasp of what I was talking about, but boys will be boys and his natural instinct had just taken over. I leaned in closer and got the first whiff of horse perfume that caused his hair to be matted under just one ear on his left side. "OH MY GOD, What did you roll in? We haven't been here 10 minutes and you are so smelly!" Good thing that Huggie wipes were invented since my last kids. Quickly grabbing them, I started to wipe off the horse manure. Ten wipes later the smell still lingered, but you could now hug him again and not get the same smell passed on. 

At the sight of my wiping and cussing under my breathe, his Auntie Debbie leaned against the van in complete laughter with tears rolling down her face. Knowing that I had bathed both of the kids the night before the trip must had been my undoing. Auntie Debbie between gasps of laughter said " Didn't you see the sign when you entered, you are now on a horse farm." "Yep I did, but I surely didn't think that this city dog, who hates being dirty, would find the horse manure so fast before I even got the puppy out of his crate!" 

By this time all I could do was smile at my border collie that yes my McGee was going on instinct and had herded himself into the freshest pile of horse manure that he could find. I was just thankful that the puppy was too young to be off leash and to get into his own pile of manure.

Written 08/18/01