March 30, 2009 | Mama Smith

pull-ups are a JOKE

Today we randomly decided to start potty-training (AGAIN).

Brighton has been peeing in the pot for a few weeks now, so after his morning leak, we decided to forgo the diaper and slap on some manly “big-boy” undies.

With the lure of jelly beans, he relieved himself consistently all morning. Awesome. This is easier than I thought! Potty-training, schmotty-training! were the arrogant thoughts smugly strolling through my head.

Then he got tired of jelly beans. Or so I thought, what other rational is there for suddenly leaving puddles of pee in the kitchen, den and bedroom? Minutes after I asked him to try to go in the toilet?!

The clincher. B is supposedly napping, now donning pull-ups as opposed to undies, since you know, it’s Day One and all. He starts yelling from his room, “Mom! MOM! Poo-poo is growing EVERYWHERE.” Seriously? SERIOUSLY!?

Opening the door, I find Brighton, lifting up poop-covered hands towards me, “ Mom, look! Look! Poop is growing all OVER. Here and here and here and here.” Little droplets were falling from his shirt as he spoke.

Honestly, I almost shut the door. Grabbed a book and walked outside. Matthew would be home in 2 hours…Brighton could wait, right? Right?

But no, Motherhood. I will NOT be defeated. You can taunt me, you can throw shit in my face, but I will not be crushed. Not today.

So I simply smiled. Stuck B in the shower and set to wiping smeared poop off the wall, off the door, off the trashcan (how? I mean, HOW, did you get it there, B!?), off the bedspread, of LEVI’S bed, off the various spots on the floor around the room, off the dresser, off the toys that unknowingly laid in the path of the poopy bum.

Scraped off the poop-covered clothes and figured it’ll happen some day. Some day potty-training will be all behind us and in it’s place with come heart-break, moral struggles, and learning to be a man. So with a freshly scrubbed and showered boy sitting next to me reading, I’m thinking this cleaning up poop thing is probably one of the easier things we’ll face in the grand scheme of what life is going to hold for my little B. For whatever reason, today that makes me want to hold him close, put him in my lap, read him some books, and be thankful for the NOW of mothering.