I find myself sympathizing with Cinderella’s wicked stepmother these days. Not in the “prevent the child from going to the ball” kind of way. But in the “how much more can I give with no thanks or appreciation” kind of way.
The princess and I are now living with NBF. Things are going well. She has adjusted to her new school, made friends and even the honor roll. We have a busy, yet predictable, routine. And every other weekend the other 3 children come to visit, making our family whole for only a few days a month. I do believe that having them here, home, is the only time that we are a whole group.
I also believe that it’s the most challenging 4 days of the month for me.
At their last visit, I really felt like an ATM. It was like the only thing that Her Highness had to say was “I need this” or “I want that” or “Why does the Princess get that and I don’t”. It really started to wear on my nerves. I found myself saying no just because someone opened their mouth to speak.
I really didn’t like this version of myself. I also don’t like feeling like my only purpose is the servitude of the ungrateful demands of the children. I need to find the balance between the “requests” of the kids and the place where I come to an understanding about the fact that it is exaggerated because they do only come home for a few days a month.
Just to be clear, I understand that this is a Fairytale Mom issue and not something the children have done wrong. And, I’ll repeat, I do love those kids and want nothing but the best for them. I’ll take my Wicked Stepmother wart when making these admissions. I get that I’m being a bit unreasonable.
I need some help getting to my happy place when Fairytale Land is full of kids.
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My name is Mom. I live in Fairy Tale Land with a Pirate, a Fairy and the Princess. My job duties include: head cook, Chief Executive of Laundry Operations, Vacuum Maintenance Engineer, Chief of Picking up Random objects and Primary Sherpa. I spend a great deal of time carrying sparkly, sequined, glitter covered tutus and miscellaneous dance shoes for the Princess. I long for moments of quiet and a mani/pedi. Trying to strike a balance between being a grown up and being a good mom.
