Super Power Unlocked

Guest Piece by Maralee Sjerven

Sometimes I just write. Nothing fancy, I just open my notes app and let go. Usually just to process or reflect on an idea that gets stuck in my brain and pokes at me until I do something with it. I write like it will be read by others but it’s rarely anything worth sharing and typically too long to be interesting to anyone but me. Today though I was freeing up memory on my phone (stupid software update) and I stumbled on this that I wrote a couple months ago. It’s long but it struck me as something some others might want to hear. So here it is…

Mom brain. We often joke that our children are “making us brain dead .” That is about the least accurate description I have ever heard. My children are not making me stupid. Quite the opposite actually. Let me explain…

Since we arrived home from swimming at the Y a couple hours ago I have done the following (in addition to all the normal bedtime stuff of course)

1. Convinced an exhausted and irrational 3 year old that it was actually very reasonable of me to suggest that we wash his new Bingo shirt before it actually melds with his body.

2. Got a crash course in honey collecting gear and how much it will cost. I now understand why honey is always so expensive.

3. Helped my 11 year old figure out how to fix his tablet when he accidentally changed the language to “aerobic” and couldn’t read any of the settings.

4. Had an emotionally charged and somewhat heart wrenching conversation with my overwhelmed overachieving firstborn, reassuring him that wanting to spend as much time as possible with his friends before many of them leave for college is a completely valid priority that is worthy of pushing back some of his (self imposed) deadlines.

5. Explained to my 10 year old that he is not old enough to be given an explanation of what “69” stands for. Where did he hear THAT?

Forget fancy politicians. If they really want to solve world hunger, cure cancer, and fix climate change they should just ask a few moms to work on it. Our problem solving ability and hostage negotiation skills are pretty much superhuman.

So next time you or another mom starts complaining they have “mom brain” just remind them that it’s actually a superpower.