Dear Person who wrote: Dear Mom on the IPhone

Did you see that post going around facebook and other parent sites, called “Dear Mom on the IPhone”

It starts like this:

” I see you over there on the bench, messing on your iPhone. It feels good to relax a little while your kids have fun in the sunshine, doesn’t it? You are doing a great job with your kids, you work hard, you teach them manners, have them do their chores.

But Momma, let me tell you what you don’t see right now…..

Your little girl is spinning round and round, making her dress twirl. She is such a little beauty queen already, the sun shining behind her hair. She keeps glancing your way to see if you are watching her.

You aren't”  ---click here for the rest of it http://community.babycenter.com/post/a40783834/dear_mom_on_the_iphone

I don’t know why but I got mad when I saw this post.  It annoyed the crap out of me.  You know why, sometimes I am that mom and I am absolutely ok with it. 

I put my all in my kids but sometimes I just want them to play so that I CAN relax and take a minute on my IPhone or whatever else I want to do for myself.  Sometimes it will be at the park.  And sometimes someone will see it and perhaps someone might judge me for it.  You know what I say to him or her, Screw you.  You are annoying and maybe if you didn’t spend all your time judging everyone and then writing about it, you would have enough time to see me sitting on the bench giving you the finger.  Harsh?  Sorry.  I just cleaned puke from in between the bathroom tiles so forgive me.  I just cleaned it from my boots that my daughter puked on and then left them out to dry.  Then, I bathed my daughter to get the germs away, wrapped her in a towel and sang her rock-a-bye baby.  I made sure she drank enough fluids and then read her a few books before I put her to bed.  I then got my other daughter in her PJ’s.  I taught her how to do it by herself and then we surprised daddy.  I cleaned out her closet and we hung her dresses up together.  But, last week…when my daughters were playing at the park, I was sitting on a bench looking at my IPhone.  Did you see me?  I was looking down at my phone while my kids were playing.  It didn’t last long though because my daughter bumped her knee and cried and then my other daughter wanted a snack.  So, it was short-lived…but it was a beautiful moment.  I cherished it.  If someone saw me and judged me, I don’t care.  I spend enough time and beautiful moments with my children.  I deserve a moment.

So you say this:

“You’ve shown them, all these moments, that the phone is more important than they are. They see you looking at it at while waiting to pick up brother from school, during playtime, at the dinner table, at bedtime…..”

And I say this:

Do not judge someone unless you know the ins and outs of their lives.  Maybe that mom took pictures of her daughter twirling in the sunlight 5 minutes before you judged her.  It is possible that she fed and clothed and put bows in her hair all while singing a song before that infamous park IPhone moment.  Maybe they talked about the clouds on the way to the park.  Is it inconceivable that she finally had a minute to herself?!  Perhaps she hadn’t looked at her phone all day.  And, maybe just maybe, she was finally able to look down at something else other than her children.  Sue her.  She is human.  We all are.  We all need a minute to ourselves from time to time and we should all be able to do it without being judged.

Dear Mom on the IPhone,

I’m glad you finally had a moment to yourself.  I hope you thoroughly enjoyed it. 

Sincerely,

Noreen