Reason 1: If William sees my husband and me embrace in the kitchen (or elsewhere), he pushes us apart.
William will wriggle in between us, usually by crawling through our legs, standing up, and wedging us apart with his head and his hands. Then he’ll hug me. Contrast this to Vivian who, upon seeing us embrace, will say, “Aww. You love each other. That’s so nice!”
Reason 2: William proclaims his love for me, and few others.
When our twins were three, we were trying to survive dinner, hoping that our kids would ingest more food than they’d throw on the floor. Vivian, who has a built-in fairness monitor, said, “I love you all. I love you all the same. I love everyone in the world… But William only loves Mommy.”
Reason 3: William frequently wants to get rid of Daddy…and sometimes Vivian.
Last week, on the drive home from school, William announced, “I want to sell Daddy and Vivian.” Amidst protests from Vivian and me (Daddy was AWOL), he added, “Then it would be just Mommy and me.” This is a weekly refrain.
Reason 4: William doesn’t let me talk to my husband
When I get home from work, my husband and I usually sit down in the living room for a chat. Most days, once William figures out that his dad is talking to me, William climbs into my lap facing me, and puts his nose about two inches from mine. If I try to look around him, he mirrors me so that I cannot have eye contact with my husband.
Reason 5: William wants to marry me.
For the past two years, Vivian has been proclaiming her undying love for her classmate. It’s mutual and apparently he’s moving in with us after they graduate from high school. We’ve met the parents, and we’re fairly content with the situation.
Recently on a drive to school (proving that most interesting conversations happen in a moving vehicle), William said he wanted to marry me.
Vivian, who’s had this conversation before, said, “You can’t marry your mom.”
Without missing a beat, William said, ‘Then I’ll marry dad.”
Vivian proceeded to educate her twin. “You can marry a guy, but you can’t marry your dad. Or anyone in your family.”
So, my son is Oedipus, for now. But if Freud knew anything (and it’s been a couple of decades since I crammed for first year psychology final), he knew that boys start to pull away from their mothers, too.
I better enjoy the hugs before William shuns me in adolescence.
WOW. Usually little boys want to marry their sisters, which also a bit creepy, but William goes straight to the top! Clever, funny and adorable post.
My daughter wanted to marry my husband until we told her that she couldn’t for about the millionth time. Then, she wanted me to have a baby boy for her to marry. After telling her she couldn’t do that either, she said she would pick a boy when she starts school because she wants to have a baby. (She doesn’t understand the mechanics yet.) My husband and I still can’t hug or kiss without her pushing us apart, and we have to step outside to have a conversation. Is it better from the adored side of things?
Your husband better sleep with one eye open.
Oh yes, enjoy it all now before those teenage years when being seen anywhere with Mom will be an embarrassment! My daughter encourages my husband and I to hug and kiss but will not tolerate us talking to one another in any conversation that effectively excludes her from joining in. “No Mommy, don’t talk to Daddy, talk to me” is a frequent refrain.
As always a cleverly written and oh so funny post
Hm. Usually my girls want a group hug when they see Daddy and me embracing, which is fine. They haven’t declared their intention to marry him yet, but Flora has already moved onto boys outside of the family in any case. She’s a precocious one. I’m pretty sure that my younger daughter will want to marry her sister, but we haven’t had to explain the logistics of that either. But I love “You can marry another guy, but not your dad.” Brilliant.
Both of my boys have wanted to marry me when they were about 4 or 5 years old. The oldest is now 15 and definately moving away from momma’s boy right over to they guy’s side with dad. The youngest is just 5 1/2 and still firmly attached to my hip most of the time. This time around I know to enjoy it while it lasts.
My son doesn’t like me hugging on his mom either. I won’t use the word Oedipus though. It freaks me out.
After several bottles of wine together in Zurich, even Pilar and Rene are thinking kids sound like a GREAT idea!
Okay, not really.
But we wish you were here to enjoy the company with us!
Wonderful writing…you’ve inspired both Pilar and me…
lots of love,
john, shelly, pilar and rene
Thanks, John. Wish we could be there with you. Write away! We can all form our own support group. Or something. Hugs to Shelly and the girls!
Your kids are so cute! 😀 I can’t wait till I have my own 🙂