Suburban Goddess

A couple of nights ago, I was sitting at the kitchen table working on a project on my laptop as Alex played nearby. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed her wandering towards the dog food bowl. Our dog has never been protective of his food, but he is nine years old, so I don’t want Alex playing in his food in case he decides to snap.

“Leave that alone,” I told her half-heartedly. Of course, she ignored me, as she now likes to do. She picked up the empty food bowl and started to wander into the kitchen with it. I opened my mouth to reprimand her again, but then she threw me for a loop.

Very deliberately, she put the bowl down in front of the pantry, opened the door, and proceeded to fill it up, one tiny handful at a time. Then she carefully closed the door, picked up the bowl, and started to bring it back to its original position. Halfway there, she tripped on the tile and fell, the dog food scattering everywhere. When she began to cry, I’m quite sure it was because she failed at her task, not because she hurt herself. I was so stunned by her behavior that I quickly scooped her up and kissed away her disappointment. We picked up the dog food together, and I put the bowl back where it belonged. Alex watched with a beaming smile as the dog dived into the food. It was that moment when I had a serious reality check.

You completely take it for granted, the ability to do and say as you please around your baby. And suddenly, one day, they’re not a baby anymore, and you realize that phase is over. For a fleeting moment, I was as profoundly sad as I was proud. I don’t have a baby anymore. I am the proud mother of a little girl.

This entry was posted on August 3, 2006 at 10:05 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.