I will become wiser and carry an air of shrewdness wherever I go, tugging my girl's hand in mine.
I will become more mature as I learn to be adept in handling sticky situations like public tantrums or painful ones like mastitis.
I will feel so accomplished in life because while giving birth is a joy, it definitely ain't an easy process. *gives the pear-shaped organ a pat*
Truth is, motherhood did make me grow up. But it also gave me so much more.
Last night, Angel and I were soaking in the tub and we decided to have a 'water fight' with her squirt toys. My weapon was the octopus which can really squirt well while she chose the crocodile to be her ally.
We had a full 30-min of fun just saying "Ready, set, go!" and then squirting all over each other. Hearing her cute laughter and seeing her happy face, it just warmed my heart so much. I probably would have done it all night if not for the fact that our skins would be pruned and we would catch a cold.
You see, motherhood gave me something that I wasn't really expecting. A truly wonderful gift.
It made me feel like a child all over again.
It made me see the good in life, it made me laugh at the most simple things in life, it made me feel like the carefree, naive, wild and happy kid once more.
So, in addition to water fights, I decided to write a list of the kiddy moments Angel and I have shared. I know I wrote about the things that make Angel happy before, but you know, happy things are always worth writing again.
1) We jump off the couch and join in the dance when Hi-5 is on the TV. We would turn in circles so much and end up in laughter. And dizzy spells.
2) I make more monkey faces to Angel than to anyone. Both the pretty ones, act-cute ones and ugly ones. Like the one where I try to touch my nose with my tongue.
3) We play hide and seek every other day in our house. Jw and I love to hide under the blanket and when Angel discovers the suspicious-looking lump, she gets ecstatic, pulls off the sheet, says "Catcha!" and then asks us to do it again. Same spot, but it makes her laugh all the same.
4) Singing is our all-time favorite hobby. We sing nursery rhymes, old songs, new songs and even pop Mandarin hits. Angel loves it and she decides when we should sing in whisper, when we should sing normally and when we should just sing our lungs out. Honestly, I feel sorry for my neighbor sometimes.
5) Barbie was never my good friend. In fact, I only remembered having toy cars that change color when you freeze them up. So when a friend gave Angel a whole bag of Barbie dolls, we had so much fun dressing them up, pretending they were going shopping, swimming, high tea or on a hot date (which pretty much left them half-naked).
6) Ever since Angel learnt "The Ants Go Marching" from Barney, she loves to march and we would do it together continuously for 20 times in our house and just keep saying "Left, right", "Left, right" and then sing the song like we were soldiers. Any sweat? No sweat!
7) We would brush our teeth together and for the first time in a long while, I make the effort to really brush in the proper way and count 1-10. Sometimes, we would exchange toothbrushes and brush each other's teeth. Plus we make a lot of gargling noises.
8) As a kid, I loved hugging stuffed toys but didn't really personify these cuddly, inanimate objects. Since Angel and I placed all our dolls, bears and toys in the tent and pretended they were our friends, I suddenly find myself talking to Mickey and Minnie during our "picnics". And I even respond back in a mousey voice so as to keep the conversation going.
9) Playing tag is another of our fun activities and I never thought I would enjoy pretending to be the monster, dog, elephant or even dinosaur. But I do. Because it makes her shriek and then laugh so much when I chase after her. On all fours. Great way to work out.
10) I dig all the kiddy rides at carnivals, Disneyland and Legoland. Yes, I realize I don't need the plunging or corkscrew roller coasters to give me a thrill, I get equally excited when I sit on caterpillar trains, flying airplanes, carousel or ferris wheel with my girl. It's because we do it together, that's how the joy increases tenfolds.
You see, thanks to Angel, she brought out this other side of me that I thought was long gone. I love doing silly things, I love doing the same silly things again, and I love how it never fails to make me laugh. First time. Second time. Third time. Every time.
So, I'm loving every second of it.
For no matter how old we become, the child in us is always there.
Motherhood - It make me grow up but it also brought back the child in me. And I'm thankful for them both.
P/S: Good or bad news, you'll probably never see this side of me in person unless you are my kid. You wouldn't want to because it'll probably freak you out. Anyway, that's what makes a mother-child pair so special, right?
