By Mo Larson
I’m a mom with a problem. It’s not our ailing economy, or even deep-set eye wrinkles that are keeping me up at night. It’s our youngest child that’s keeping me up at night. A couple of weeks ago, I was sitting on our couch watching a bit of a morning news program, with my four year old daughter Scarlett snuggled up next to me. I was on my third cup of coffee and I could barely string enough words together to form a sentence. Sure, I was coming up with some main ideas, but I was missing vital parts. Like verbs and nouns. And the words in between that connect the verbs and nouns.
And Scarlett says to me, “Oh, boy, Mom. I’m SO tired today.” Now normally I would feel sympathetic when one of my children feels anything less than 100%. But on this particular day I was having trouble mustering any sympathy, because I too was tired. VERY tired. And the reason that I was feeling so fatigued was due mostly to the 41 pounds of joy seated next to me.
Scarlett had climbed into bed with my husband and I at around 11:13 p.m. the previous night. She wedged herself between us, and then the party really kicked off. You can ask almost anyone that knows me, I’m one of those people that truly loves my bed. But three and a half hours later, I couldn’t wait to get up. Not because I felt deliciously well rested, but because I knew I couldn’t stand another kick in the face. Nor could I tolerate another knee in the small of my back. I could go on but I think you are getting the idea. I couldn’t handle another elbow in my eye. Okay, I’m done now. (The elbow to the eye was kind of the last straw so I felt it must be mentioned.) So it was with irony in my voice when I responded to her with, “Really? You’re tired? That’s odd because I feel fantastic.” I don’t think Scarlett understands irony, because she looked up at me and said, “Oh good Mommy, I’m so glad you feel fantastic!”
In addition to sleep deprivation, I’ve also gotten out of bed with numerous cramps and kinks due to overcrowding in Bedville. And on two occasions that I wish I could forget, we even woke up soaked in urine because Scarlett had accidents in our bed. Scarlett became a nightly visitor to our room when she transitioned from her crib to her big-girl bed about two years ago. At the time we told ourselves it was a phase, and that we could deal with the loss of sleep for a few nights. But two years later we are thinking that it’s a little more than a “phase” and it’s a toss-up which she’ll do first: sleep in her own bed or be voted homecoming queen. She’s a real beauty, so I have no doubt about the homecoming crown. And sleeping in her own bed just doesn’t seem to have any appeal to her, whereas she adores wearing sparkly dresses. So fellow moms, next time your child keeps you up all night, know that there are lots of us out there dragging ourselves out of bed and praying for the caffeine to kick in. And be thankful that you didn’t wake up in a wet bed.
Mo Larson, a 34 year resident of Missoula, has been blissfully married to the man of her dreams for 13 1/2 years. She is the mother of 3: Ben (10), Jake (7) and Scarlett Jayne (4), and has enjoyed all of the glory of being a stay-at-home mom for the last 7 years. Mo and her husband recently started a business in Missoula called SoccerTots, and she loves the challenge of again working outside of the home. She dreams about uninterrupted showers, a kid-free bed, and half-price coffee.
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We are very happy for Joe and Mo. Whenever we first met Joe, we thought perhaps he’d been raised by wolves, which was a vast improvement over Mo’s previous boyfriends. Turns out, he wasn’t raised by wolves at all. he was simply born and raised in Homer, AK—which has similarities to being raised by wolves. (Mo refers to him as her Alaskan prince.) At any rate, we wish them all the best, both in Mo’s writing career and their venture with SoccerTots. Love to both of you and your sweet little family, Dad and Mom
I love this articles. Mo you are a talented writer, and you have a lovely family. It was a pleasure to find this site and to get to read this entry. Thanks a lot!
This article had me laughing out loud! Larson has keen insight into motherhood. Keep posting more by this superb author!
Oh, how I know how you feel. We have nightly visitors and sometimes more than one. I was hopeful that sleep deprivation would end when everyone was sleeping through the night but alas it has not. Good luck!
-Rainbow
(mother to a 4, 3 and 1 year old)
P.S. I was raised in Homer, AK by wolves (or at least Wolfe’s, my maiden name)!
Nice work Mo Larson. My little one is still in the easy phase of sleeping 12 hours a night in her own room and crib. But I read the article to her and now she wants a big girl bed, sparkly dresses and coffee.
In the spirit of full disclosure, I am from Homer AK too. I am also thinking of wearing a sparkly dress to bed tonight. And sometimes I pee when I really don’t want to. And I think Mo is wonderful and look forward to more from her.
thanks nice sharing. think i used it in the right way but my result is sth like this: