When I'm a Mom Like You

Olivia has all kinds of big plans. She’s going to be a singing cop who arrests bad men who dress up like women (we have definitely been letting her watch way too much Cops Reloaded.) On her days off, she is going to be a princess who helps ladies brush their hair. I kind of love that one.

Last weekend we were all outside planting new trees and flowers and just enjoying a brief glimpse of summer (so brief, today the temperatures aren’t even going to reach 50, the Midwest sucks this year.) and Olivia was trying avoid Orville, who was desperate to rub himself against her legs.

She announced, “When I’m a mom like you, I’m not going to have any animals living in my house either.”

Alyssa heard this and declared, “Well, when I’m a mom, I’m probably going to have two dogs and three cats living in my house.”

Olivia wrinkled her nose and said, “Then I won’t visit you at all.”

Alyssa rolled her eyes and said, “Promise?”

I wonder where they get their sarcasm…

I asked Alyssa if we were the only family among her friends who doesn’t have an animal in the house. She replied that maybe one or two of her friends didn’t have pets. But then she reminded me that Bomber, the betta fish lives in the house.

Olivia interjected, “Yeah, but he doesn’t jump on us or leave hair on our clothes.”

She’s a smart one, that Olivia.

I know there is a chance that Olivia won’t have children. I know there is a chance that she won’t be mentally capable of caring for children but I hold tight to the chance that she WILL be able to do those things. I cling to the possibility that she’ll be able to make every single one of her dreams come true, even those dreams of motherhood.

I’ve met some amazing people on Facebook, some of whom are adults with 5p- syndrome who didn’t even know they had the syndrome until they’d had a child of their own diagnosed with it. At that point, the parents are often tested as well and some of these people are diagnosed as adults.

So it’s possible that Olivia will be mom like me someday.

I refuse to be the one who tells her that’s not possible. I won’t be the one who puts limits on either of my girls. I’ll support their dreams and their goals and work to help them come true. And if there comes a time when we realize those dreams aren’t possible? I’ll be there to console them, to hug them, to dry their tears and help them find new dreams.