My Secret Identity

I have a secret identity . . . anyone surprised? Although I wish this secret identity was some sort of a super hero, it's not . . . it is the person that exists inside of me when I am not on official duty as "mommy". This person makes rare appearances like on date nights with my husband, occasional "girls night out" with my friends (which, ironic as it may be the topic of conversation usually centers around our "not-so-secret identities" 0f "mommy"), and occasional moments out to myself.

This is the woman who is not stressed about keeping track of exactly where each child is at every moment, breaking up fights, stopping tantrums, constantly cleaning up messes, and changing diapers. This is the woman who does not have screaming or whining children as the backdrop to every phone conversation, or a child hanging on her or saying quite loudly "Mom, let's go!" every two seconds when trying to carry on a live conversation. This is the woman who doesn't feel like she needs to be an octopus, elastigirl, or perhaps both at the same time.  This is the machine that feels like it can go into sleep mode however short it may last to take a break from all of her "multi-tasking". 

Although this woman makes only brief appearances in my life, I am grateful that I know she exists and I get to make this occasional transformation. There is something about letting my secret identity come out every once in a while that makes living in my not-so-secret identity a little easier.  In fact, I've found that when I get to make the transformation between the two identities frequently, I'm actually better in my "true" identity. 

I love being a mom. It's hard, frustrating, overwhelming, and a whole lot of other things, but it's also rewarding, entertaining, spectacular, and amazing! I am truly grateful that my "secret identity" is not my only identity. That my most-commonly known identity is "mom".