Octopus Envy

Octopus whaaaa…? 

Envy. 

Octopus envy.  It’s what I have.

Since becoming a mother it seems I’ve turned into a person who feels she has to be all things to everyone.  To be able to do everything that is needed of me exactly when it is needed of me.  Which as you know is flat out impossible, and it is the very thing that has ignited my envy of an Octopus.

Why in the world would I be envious of an octopus? 

It’s not for its bright beautiful color, or how gracefully it can move in the water, or even for its ability to squeeze into small spaces of any kind.  Although that would be an extremely useful ability and would definitely up my wardrobe selection ten fold.  Hmmmm….

Nope, it’s for the simply fact that they have EIGHT arms!  I can only imagine what I would be able to accomplish as a mother with eight glorious arms.  I could make meals, clean the kitchen counters, empty the dishwasher, vacuum the floors, dust the tables, help a child with homework, put a baby down for a nap, and maybe even eat a meal myself ALL AT THE SAME TIME.

There are many days where I find myself wishing I could sprout out an extra arm or two during the day.  I find myself asking my boys to tell me how many arms I have.  I know I have two, but apparently they don’t.  I’ve taken to asking them if I look like an octopus.  Of course the answer is no.  So why then do they ask me to do eight different things all at the same time?  “Mommy can I have a glass of milk please?”  “Can I have more ____ please?”  “Can you get me a napkin please?” It goes on and on and on, and mostly during mealtimes. 

Instead of sprouting new arms like the glorious octopus, most of the time I find myself being a pack mule.  Grabbing and carrying everything I can think of so not to forget anything or have to do whatever it is more than once.  Just the other night I took my older two boys to see the Cars 2 movie.  Walking into the theatre I was already holding: my purse, a bag of popcorn, candy, pop, and a booster seat.  Once we found our seats Sweet Pea needed help getting into the seat.  So while holding all of the above, add to it a childs bag of popcorn, a bottle water, and the child himself.  Then came the task of trying to put the booster seat into the theatre seat, and Sweet Pea into the booster seat.  For the record, I can say that without a doubt, a mule is nothing to be envious of. 

So yes mighty Octopus, you have my envy. 

What or who has your envy?