Musings from a working mother

And here we go again.

I came back to the cabin after a run, and there is Omar on the couch, reading a magazine in great peace and solitude. The kids are all up in the loft playing HAPPILY together. No whining, no crying, no pawing at dad, no chewing on each other. Just one happy family... as long as I am not there.

This fact really sticks in both O and I's craw. Why can't we all be happy together when we are together? I actually snuck into the cabin so I wouldn't disrupt all this healthy behavior. I sat down silently, putting my finger up to my lips in Omar's general direction, and I stretched like a church mouse.

But then, they saw me.

And then the wheels fell off. Down, down, down they come, "Mommy!!!" Smiles and hugs, yea! Then the "Can you do this with me, can you do that with me, can you read me this book, can you play a game with me, come upstairs we have a show to show you," on and on and on.

When I can't possibly do it all (nor, at that moment did I want to do ANY of it), then the whining begins, the "but you said...." or "please" or "you never (read: just 2 hours ago) do this..." And then I get incredibly frustrated that no one seems to be able to simply continue with what they were doing before I showed up.

So, what is the deal? Is it just a mom thing? Is it a boy-mom thing? Is it just us? This is when I start waxing all philosophical-like about parenting... Does this mean I spend too much time away from them as a working mom, and this is just a sign of them needing more of me in their lives? Or is it that I spend too much time with them, i.e. entertaining them whenever I am around. Do they simply not know how to "be" when I am there because we always "do." Did we have too many kids, and now none of them gets the 1-on-1 attention they deserver? Is it normal, healthy behavior from young boys towards the person they trust and bond with the most? Is is horribly unhealthy, clingy behavior from young boys that need to learn how to entertain themselves? Is it both??? Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaghhhghg!

Something tells me I may never actually have the answer to these questions.... But here's to driving myself nuts trying to figure it out anyway.