Cling Wrap

Lately, my children have an eerie resemblance to cling wrap. I love my children and am overjoyed when I get to spend time with them. As a full time outside-the-home career person and mother, my time is too often divided between work and home. On top of work, I spend a great deal of time with my parents who are both struggling in health. So I’m sure the kids miss me as much as I miss them and want to be with me 24/7 when I am home. But the cling wrap phase is so overwhelming that I’m about to tear my hair out.

This weekend I was home with the kids – it was daddy’s weekend to work. At 5:45 am Saturday, my son comes into my room and gets 2 inches from my face. “I’m awake” he announces. I asked him to come lay with me for a while since it was still dark. So he climbs in and wraps his legs around me and put his arms around my neck. This was nice for about 1 minute. Then my daughter awakened. “MOMMMIIIIEEEE!” So I went to get her and she joined us in the bed. But after fighting over me for several minutes about who got to lay closer, my son got elbowed in eye and we transferred to the living room where we had a carpet picnic and watched cartoons (with both children on my lap).

A few hours later, I announced I was going to take a shower. “I go with you,” my daughter responded. So she sat, with a box of toys, between the linen and plastic shower curtains (so she could see me) for the duration. My son migrated into the bathroom as well, and sat on the toilet and asked me 1000 questions. We then drove to the store, during which time my daughter cried “I want you” from her car seat, hands outstretched until we got there and I rescued her from the back seat.

At dinner, every night, she has to sit on me – not next to me. She wants me to lay with her to go to sleep, put my feet in the water when she takes a bath and carry her all around the house. My son wants me to stand in the bathroom with him when he goes potty and wants me to stand at the bedroom door while he goes to sleep (both of which are new requests). When I am home for lunch, my daughter wraps around my legs and doesn’t let go until it’s time for me leave, which I do with her crying that she wants to go with me. When I go to the bathroom, both children stand at the door and knock and cry for me.

I’m sure it’s a phase – one of thousands we will go through. I’m trying to figure out how to explain person space to them – not just for my sake but for themselves as well. So this week we are working on incremental periods of “Me-Time” where the kids pick something they want to do, and do it in solitude, allowing me the chance to pee.