Mompetition

A friend of mine recently sent me this hysterical video through email:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikvcS3Oe-oA&feature=player_embedded

After watching it several times, I just realized that the person who created this video referred to it as "mompetition" and "mompetitors." I thought that was one of the greatest terms I had ever heard because I have realized that one of the curses from having kids is occasionally having that one insane person around you who wants to turn motherhood into a constant competition!

Mompetition is something I unfortunately had a horrible experience with very early on in my pregnancy. Shortly after announcing my pregnancy, a friend of mine became incredibly jealous and quickly scrambled to become pregnant as well. While it should have been the happiest time in our lives and something we could share with eachother, she thrived for mompetition between our unborn children! While I was further along than she was, she saw it as a losing battle for her which quickly made her crazy and ultimately, ended our friendship. As you can imagine, it was ruining the joys of my pregnancy. I can't imagine it wasn't ruining the joys of hers as well which is why I struggle to understand why she wanted to live that way to begin with! Months later, while she is still pregnant, I keep hearing tidbits of her poisoning mutual friends and obsessively trying to find out information about me through other people. Why her mompetition is getting the best of her is beyond me but it fascinates me. In the end, she is only failing to see that while she should be enjoying one of the most precious times in her life, she is too busy looking at someone else through jealous eyes and she will never get this time back. When she looks back on her pregnancy, all she will remember is her psychotic and obsessive behavior! It's honestly sad because she may even begin to miss out on her child's life if she continues this with other moms.

Mompetition is such a curse but something that's easy to fall into which is why I found this video absolutely hysterical. It is so incredibly accurate! While this video made me laugh at how crazy some people can get, it also reminded me to savor absolutely every single second of Ashton's life! If I had not chosen to distance myself, I would have been allowing someone else to ruin my own pregnancy. Without that unnecessary, childish drama, I was able to remember my pregnancy as one of the happiest times in my life! I honestly cannot wait to be pregnant again because it was such an amazing experience!

It also ruins another joy in life which is having mom friends to share things with! I absolutely LOVE the fact that I'm not the only mom among my friends! Having people who share helpful tips with me and give me ideas for better ways to do things has been amazing! I love the fact that I have several moms I can go to and ask how they did certain things or how they dealt with little problems babies have. It also has become such a great support system and has been so exciting to see their babies grow up!

It has given me so much to look forward to in Ashton's life! One friend of mine texted me the other day and told me that her little boy had just taken his first crawling step! I was so excited for her and her little guy, I felt as if he was my baby! Sharing in her happiness was so much fun and I was so proud of him! Another friend of mine was telling me how her little boy was just starting to try out different vegetables and which ones he liked! Hearing her pride and the excitement of his development was so special and gave me so much to look forward to. Facebook has also given me several opportunities to see friends' babies being born and to be able to share in their excitement as they, too, enter into new parenthood! It makes us feel closer as our babies grow up together! Being a mom with other moms is only a stressful, crazy thing if you make it and if you do, it's really a shame because there is so much to enjoy in it!

God gave us one life! So enjoy it, and laugh! Enjoy the video above and if you're a mom, remember that compulsively comparing notes to other moms only ruins your own experiences and takes away from a time in your childrens' lives you will never get back!

When I'm not laughing at this video, remember I'm up to my eyelashes in diapers!