When my husband and I were dating, we didn’t have many “rules.” We often pooled our last $30 and had spontaneous Olive Garden dinners, stayed awake until the sun came up, went for aimless car rides at 2 a.m., and ate drop biscuits for every other meal (Bisquick is cheap). Basically, we were wildly irresponsible, not to mention malnourished. The rare times I would attempt to cook for us were totally disastrous. My French toast turned out a little too burnt and “toasty” for human taste. My eggs stuck to the pan and burned. My hamburgers were too pink in the middle and I thought I remembered my mom’s recipe for cornbread, but apparently I was very wrong. Is it any coincidence that I lost about 15 pounds that year?
 Now that my husband and I are parents, things are a little different. We pool our last $30 to pay the water bill. We stay awake only until our daughter falls asleep. We go for aimless car rides to soothe her when she is fussy. I make drop biscuits at breakfast and serve them with bacon and eggs—which I never, ever burn anymore. In fact, I have become a pretty good cook and even use a slow cooker occasionally, which makes me feel like such a grown-up. My family follows a pretty regular routine and you can count on my Sweet and Sour Chicken on Monday nights. We’re so predictable it hurts, but life is unpredictable. This means things never get boring.
John Lennon sang “Life is what happens to you when you’re busy making other plans.” Truer words were never, um, sung. While I was planning to wait and have kids after I finished school, I found out I would be a mother in eightmonths. When we were planning on going Christmas shopping a few weeks ago, we were rear-ended by a semi. When I planned on making a spinach lasagna after I first got married, I forgot to add the freaking spinach.
So, you see, things don’t always happen the way we intend. But the positive changes life brings us make us want to keep taking risks, keep pursuing our passions. Many of the times my own “plans” were altered or undone because of some sudden change resulted in something great. Becoming a mom is the greatest joy I have ever been given. We got a safe, newer car after our accident and suffered no serious injuries. And by omitting the main ingredient from spinach lasagna (still can’t believe I did that), I ended up making an awesome cheese lasagna that my husband still requests, three years later. Love,Mom.
Debra is a young housewife and mother transitioning from wild to mild. Like, really mild. Stay- at- home-on-Friday-nights-and-play-Candy-Land mild.
You can email her at interruptedmom@gmail.com or visit the website at www.motherinterrupted.com