"Hi Daddy, I got you a cinnamon raisin bagel."
"Thanks Mommy."
"Mommy wants Daddy to wait outside with the kids."
"Kids, Mommy said listen to Daddy."
"Daddy is asking the Kids to please go outside now."
"Coffee is for Mommy and Daddy. Juice is for Kids."
My bagel shop had turned into a weird grammar club. I was torn between irritation and jealousy. I was irritated in the same way that I am irritated when people say "we're pregnant." I was jealous because these Mommies were all so damn bubbly and coordinated, meanwhile I was grumpy and disheveled. So, I half kidding asked my husband to call me Wifey and he fully not kidding refused.
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| Bagelicious |
Does one gain a child and lose her name? I can understand using "mommy" and "daddy" when talking to your children about your spouse, but do I have to start calling my husband "daddy" in all contexts from childbirth forward? The whole "kids" thing especially confused me. People spend so much time and consideration in naming their child, don't they want to use said name? I get the shorthand function of using "kids" over listing multiple names, but it was way overdone.
Yet, something about the overuse seemed symbolic of their devotion to each other and the satisfaction they took in their roles. They were like a special little club - the club of being a family. Aww shucks.
The experience confirmed two things: 1) this wifey needs more time before she's ready for club initiation, and 2) this wifey needs more coffee before she's ready to face that many mommies, daddies and kiddies on a weekend morning.
