If there is something that being a mother has taught me, it is that we can all change our minds and I have also learned to understand that sometimes not everything we plan is possible to achieve. Many times we think that things are already written or that they will work as we think, but when we do, we are surprised.
Today I want to share with you, with a little humor, some situations that we as mothers and fathers imagine in a beautiful way in our minds and that in the end end up being a disaster: seven cases of expectation versus reality when you have children .
The family photo
Let’s start with a classic with which most will surely be able to identify: the family photo . All mothers like to take photos of our children, but we rarely appear in it. Perhaps that is why our insistence arises to have a photo session with the whole family, in which for once in our lives we all manage to appear.
Expectation. Dress up all very cute, comb the children, get some decorative elements to give it a special touch or find a nice place to use as a background. The whole family present and showing a big smile at the camera.
Reality. The baby cries, the children’s clothes itch and one of them has dropped something that has made it dirty. And the hairstyles? As if they just woke up. And what about the poses, if everyone is turning to the side, and the only one who is paying attention instead of smiling, manages to make a strange face. But hey, at least we already have a photo together, right?
Car trips
Traveling by car and with the family is something very nice, because in addition to helping us to disconnect from the daily hustle and bustle, it helps us to give our children new memories of places we visit together.
Expectation. Everyone ready and happy in the car, listening to music on the road or singing as a family, excited to reach their destination. After a few minutes on the way, the children sleep peacefully in their chairs and we have a little while to talk quietly while we plan what we will do when we arrive at our destination.
Reality. Children hate the car and most of the way they go crying, asking to get out or delighting us with a serenade of screams and sobs. There is no shortage of the typical questions of “how much is left? Are we there yet?” every thirty seconds or less. Until finally, the children fall asleep … 10 minutes before the end of the trip.
Testing a new recipe
Every mother knows very well the foods that her children like. We know which ones always work and we usually prepare things that we know well. But every now and then, we feel like trying something different and we choose to learn a new recipe to cook for our family.
Expectation. You prepare in advance, buy the necessary ingredients and even mention to your children that tonight there will be something new and different for dinner: a surprise! You spend hours in the kitchen and you have to be reviewing the recipe before each step, but you know that the result will be delicious and it will be worth it.
Reality. The meal takes a little longer than expected and your children begin to despair. You finally serve it, and the look of disgust on his face says it all: they won’t get a single bite. And if you’re not in the mood that day, get ready to see your freshly cooked food flying through the air. What do they eat at the end? The croquettes from the supermarket that you had in the freezer.
The school festival
In many countries, it is customary to hold festivals that celebrate a particular date: Mother’s Day, the end of classes, the beginning of spring, and so on. It is a day that many of us wait for, to be able to see our beautiful children dance or sing tenderly.
Expectation. We arrive on time, take a good seat and wait for the show to start. Our children go on stage and perform a magnificent performance with their performance or dance, while we unravel taking photographs and video to capture those beautiful and unforgettable moments.
Reality. We left home late because we could not find the glove / hat / mask of the locker room that our children will wear. Finally we arrive, we take some places that are not so bad and we wait. Finally, our children appear on stage, we applaud them euphorically … and they remain as statues. Or worse, they cry out of nerves and find it impossible to move. Anyway, at least they looked beautiful in their costumes.
The birthday party
A child’s birthday will always be a special date for us, and during his first years of life, the planning and organization of his birthday party is something that makes us very excited.
Expectation. If he already shows a preference for a character, choose the theme of the birthday party together. You prepare everything to make the big day look beautiful, with decorations, games and meals that will keep the guests fun and happy.
Reality. Let what happened to our editor Silvia, who after weeks preparing a Star Wars party, found that the decorations attracted so much attention from the invited children, that they pounced on them and only lasted five minutes, which later They passed her when she proposed the games that she had prepared with so much enthusiasm and in the end, everyone laughed because they did not know who was the character that was on the birthday cake.
Meals out
For those special occasions, on weekends or simply, one day when we don’t feel like cooking, we always have the option of going out to eat as a family and thus enjoy a good time together away from home.
Expectation. Everyone asks for what they most want, the children finish or eat most of their food, they talk as a family and the meal passes as a nice family moment.
Reality. The place is very full, your son refuses to eat what he had ordered and manifests it through a series of desperate cries and screams that make some people around him turn to see them. And of course, you end up with your cold food or ordering to take away what you left (which is almost the entire plate).
Family movie night
How delicious to stay one afternoon locked in a house, snuggled up as a family while we enjoy a movie! It is one of the easiest and cheapest activities that we can have, and that without a doubt we can enjoy a lot in the company of our children.
Expectation. We prepare everything for the family movie night: pillows, some comfortable blankets and of course, do not miss something delicious to eat. We choose the movie among all of us and enjoy it until the end or until the children have fallen asleep. A quiet and beautiful night with the family.
Reality. We can’t agree on the movie. They all want the same pillow. We finally settle in, and the kids just won’t stop teasing each other. We pause the movie every 10 minutes because they want to go to the bathroom, jump, socks bother them, or any other reason that prevents them from watching the movie. We end up putting the Paw Patrol or Peppa Pig until everyone falls down.
Family moments are perfectly imperfect
Perhaps you identify with one or all of these situations, some of us exaggerate them a bit to give them a touch of humor, remembering that many times things do not go as planned, but we should not let that ruin our day .
Let’s take those moments of disaster also with humor and laughing at them, which surely in a couple of years will be some of the funny anecdotes that we can relive as a family. Life with babies and children is often unpredictable, but by learning to enjoy the positives of those perfectly imperfect moments, we can cope better .
Photos | iStock
In Babies and more | Real motherhood vs. idealized motherhood, Christmas with the baby is not always as you expected (humor), Before and after having children … with a lot of humor
