I'm no longer just Marsha. I'm Mommy.

Before marriage and children (and still when I’m by myself), I was cautious to never do anything to look foolish in front of others. Dance? No way! (Well, I would get on the dance floor pretty liquored up – I’m sure that was a sight to see!) Sing? Hell no! Make funny faces and noises? What kind of classy woman does that?!?! I was even shy to sing a song on the radio in front of my husband. It would have to be at very quiet levels and turned away from him while in the car.

Having children changes all that, doesn’t it? To bring joy to their lives by acting like a total idiot is what every parent strives to do. From birth, we make squeaky little noises and goofy baby talk to prompt a gassy smile or a first laugh, and then we laugh like lunatics when we accomplish the task. We pull out Fisher Price’s Learning Puppy and dance and sing in high-pitched voices to make our babies chuckle and sway. We watch the Wiggles and want to get them involved, so we start dancing like Greg, Murray, Anthony, and Jeff. Any mom who doesn’t know the words to Hot Potato (first of all is blessed, how did you manage to escape that?) must have her head buried in the sand. To sing Hot Potato with full hand movements and dance along with your baby is a rite of passage, the louder and more out of tune, the better.

I will dance with Aidan in public areas if we hear a snappy tune and it will make him laugh. I’ll sing with him in front of other people (in fact, we do this every week at Gymboree!), not caring what my voice sounds like. I’ll blow raspberries and mimic faces to exaggerated proportions to make him laugh.

I lick my finger and clean his face with my own spit. I lick his fingers when he gets baby food on them and there isn't a baby wipe close enough, for if I leave him with icky baby fingers, when I get back he'll not only have icky baby fingers, but icky baby legs and hair and arms and face... I sniff his butt to check on his diaper status. If I meet another mom at the mall or on the street, we can talk for fifteen minutes straight about poop, vomit, and other bodily fluids without even exchanging first names. I have fully embraced my mom-ness. I am no longer just Marsha. I’m Mommy.

Yes, to be a mom is many things, and I appreciate the gift of living in the moment and the joy that Aidan gives me. I appreciate him showing me that laughter and having fun is a priority and as long as we are embracing life to the fullest, there is nothing to be ashamed of.