It was all in place, right there in my living room. There were lights and cameras; there was even a guy who said, “action.” For a brief moment I felt like a true TV star. It was fun while it lasted. But as with all things involving children, I came crashing back to reality when the baby woke from a nap and promptly began to projectile vomit something orange all over his room. They kept rolling, and so did I. I kicked right into mom gear and changed him, soothed him, gathered the sheets, washed the sheets, made his bed and laid him right back down with Pedialyte all while the show went on right outside the door.
It was funny really. As I sat scrubbing puke off every article I had just gathered from his room, I could hear them moving equipment around and giving Kevin direction in the living room above me. No one even noticed I had left the room. All I could think was, they should get a camera down here because THIS is reality TV as I spend a good portion of every day in the laundry room scrubbing something off something.
What struck me about the whole thing was the fact that I wasn’t bothered by any of it. I have been looking forward to this show taping for weeks. I couldn’t wait to be part of the action and I really did enjoy being part of behind the scenes. But when it came time to suspend my TV fantasy moment and head back to my real role as mom, I did it not only without hesitation but without a single bit of resentment or anger. I’m not saying I deserve any credit for taking care of my kid above all else. That is what I should have done. But I would have expected me to have at least a pang of remorse that I was missing out on something big. I didn’t. I guess I’m growing up and have embraced the job of motherhood more than I knew. I guess I also found once and for all, who truly is the star of this show-and boy it ain’t me.
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It was funny really. As I sat scrubbing puke off every article I had just gathered from his room, I could hear them moving equipment around and giving Kevin direction in the living room above me. No one even noticed I had left the room. All I could think was, they should get a camera down here because THIS is reality TV as I spend a good portion of every day in the laundry room scrubbing something off something.
What struck me about the whole thing was the fact that I wasn’t bothered by any of it. I have been looking forward to this show taping for weeks. I couldn’t wait to be part of the action and I really did enjoy being part of behind the scenes. But when it came time to suspend my TV fantasy moment and head back to my real role as mom, I did it not only without hesitation but without a single bit of resentment or anger. I’m not saying I deserve any credit for taking care of my kid above all else. That is what I should have done. But I would have expected me to have at least a pang of remorse that I was missing out on something big. I didn’t. I guess I’m growing up and have embraced the job of motherhood more than I knew. I guess I also found once and for all, who truly is the star of this show-and boy it ain’t me.
