Who are You?

The Mud Puddle milestones continue to come fast and furious as we speed ever farther away from baby-dom into Big Boy territory.

Most of these events I am prepared for and can see coming (hitting 4' tall, losing teeth, etc). Occasionally I get hit with one out of nowhere right between the eyes.

I am “Mommy” not “Mumma” or “Momma”. I have always been rather particular (I know, me with a strong opinion? GET OUT!) about this and the MP has complied with my wishes.
I will answer if he calls “Mother”, “Mrs.”, or “Kiki” but those are used sparingly.

I am “Mommy” or at least I WAS.

I always knew the day would come where he would start calling me by the more grown up “Mom”.
I was not however prepared for it to happen at 6 and three quarters. But it has. The first time he said it, it was like a dagger to the Mommy spot in my heart.

I like being “Mommy”. Mommy means cuddles on the couch and kisses on booboos and moments where I can still see flashes of the baby MP.

Every time he calls me “Mom” I see second grade, junior high, driver’s license and girlfriends. There is no baby in “Mom” – that is all business.

I am quite frankly shocked that I am taking it to heart in such a dramatic fashion.
I always knew the transition would occur, that someday he would grow out of it (the only adult I have ever heard use “Mommy” was Anderson Cooper talking about his mother, the fabulous, Gloria Vanderbilt and quite frankly it made me love him even more – if that is even possible).

I have a lot more of my self value and identity tied up in “Mommy” than I have been willing to admit.
My all time favorite name is “Mommy”. The day he was born so was I, as his Mommy and it is my greatest joy. I guess I am just not ready to give it up yet and admit I am a “mom” – old and not as needed.

But as I have found that is not my decision to make. I am only steering the boat, the MP sets the course.

To gauge whether or not I was overreacting I decided to ask Scott if he had noticed his name had changed to “Dad” and whether or not it bothered him.
He replied, “Not until you mentioned it but now it hurts.”
I am always happy to share the parenting pain.