Who Are You Calling "Mom?"

Posted by Morgan Benzian

Emma is growing up so fast. She just started “school” and I’ve been noticing some changes in her. She’s no longer my sweet, innocent, lovey girl. Well - she still is all those things, but she’s also started to give me a heavy dose of “The Sass.” I’ve been waiting for this. I mean, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree and she is my daughter, after all.

So, the other day I was starting to get Emma ready for her nap. There were toys everywhere, her lunch was all over her table (uneaten, of course), and the house was in a general state of chaos.

Because bribery is the greatest weapon against her strong will, I told her, “If you want to read books with Mommy before you take a nap, I need you to help clean up your toys. Otherwise, you will have to go straight to bed. And Mommy really loves to cuddle and read with you, so let’s clean up! Yaaayyy!” Everything must be said with enthusiasm so she doesn’t realize that I’m asking her to do an actual chore.

She turned, raised the palm of her hand to me, and said, “Hold on. I’m busy Mom.” I spun around. “What did you just say?” I asked her. She said, “I’m busy Mom.” There it was again, that word: Mom.

“That’s Mommy to you”, I felt like telling her. Instead, I stood there, speechless.

When did she decide that it was time to start calling me “Mom”? Isn’t it a little soon for that? I know it doesn’t sound like a big deal, but here is why it bugs me so much.

It’s one thing to get sassed by my preschooler when she still addresses me as “Mommy”. I can kind of convince myself that it’s cute. But when she calls me “Mom”, she basically sounds like a teenager who needs a major attitude adjustment. A teenager who also has a very limited vocabulary and cannot correctly pronounce the letter “R”. You know what I’m saying.

I lucked out though, because a few days later she was back to calling me “Mommy”. Phew! That little “Mom” episode gave me a glimpse of my not-so-distant future as a mother to a teenage girl and I didn’t like it. Not one bit.

So, please, if you ever address me in front of my children, you better keep the name “Mom” out of your mouth. Or else in I'll send both of my teenage girls to live with you for the summer.

3 back to toddler

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