Whine

Rule number. 1: No Whining – at all.
Rule number 2: No Wine alone.

In a nutshell, these are the rules that I give most weight in my life.

Rule number 1 is carried over from my own childhood. I don’t know how I failed in asserting its importance in the first four years of motherhood, but it has recently been bumped up to number 1 priority. I cannot tolerate the pitch that my 4-year old achieves in his voice, and it seems to always be about things that I could never dream to have as a kid. Games, television, even food. As a child, I knew this rule and unquestioningly abided by it. There was no argument about it: No whining.

Rule number 2 is an afterthought, something that I have developed since joining Motherhood Nation. Something about red wine makes me happy and less aggravated by whining. Maybe it is my legacy coming from a long line of alcoholics; maybe it is that one sip can immediately readjust reality. Somehow it doesn’t seem to matter if they watch an extra 10 minutes of television — or if they suck on a lollipop while doing it. Once, my husband worked late and, I had a glass of wine with dinner. It was too much of a rewarding feeling to not judge my motherhood so intensely — to give myself a break.

It was too addictive: Rule number 2 was born: No Wine Alone.

By Jennifer O’Shaughnessy