The Boo Boo Taker

MONDAY, JUNE 13, 2011 6:25 PM, EDT

The Boo Boo Taker

There's something magical about being a mother. It's as if God blesses you with superpowers to see things when you are looking in a different direction (you know, the old "eyes in the back of your head trick"), juggle work-life balance, know what others are going to say before they say it, and heal boo boos with a single magic kiss.These supermom powers have befuddled children and fathers alike for ages, and today is no different.

And every once in a while, a child will look at you with this sense of wonderment...amazed that you can do something special. Something that no one in the world can ever do again.

Something that no one else has ever done...When I began labor with Logan, it was 1am Pacific time. Mama was in Wisconsin, blissfully sleeping I imagine. When my contractions (weak as they were), reached 10 minutes apart regularly, I called Mama - it was 3am Reno-time, 5am Sauk Prairie-time. I was 3 days past my due date, and October 29th seemed like as good a day as any to have a baby. Mama hopped on a flight, but I was sure she would miss my labor (which I imagined with rose colored glasses would be about 5 hours long and 20 minutes of pushing with minimal pain and no drugs). As Nathan wheeled me to my Labor and Delivery Room, I heard a lady scream in labor in a room as we passed by. I looked at Nathan and laughed - like literally laughed out loud at her (I didn't say it was nice, I'm just trying to be honest). And I said, "That will not bemy labor." At 2 pm, Mama arrived. I was still about 4cm dilated with a looong way to go. And there I realized - someone one stole my labor. Someone stole my labor, and here I was, stuck in hers. That bitch stole my labor. Over the next 12 hours, I labored, lost my epidural, and screamed bloody murder as I pushed for two hours - somehow I had in in my head that if I had a loud Days of Our Lives labor, it would be more productive, but I was WRONG! When Logan was born, he was perfect. "You are going to change the world," I said. "You are going to changemy world." And he did that...and does, every day. Mama said something to me that day (October 30th, by the way) that will stay with me always, and I share it with every friend who has a baby, probably without the eloquence that Mama used with me. She said, "You probably feel like you just did something that no one else in the world has ever done or could ever do...and people have been giving birth for years. And someone is going to tell you that, and make you feel like you didn't do anything that is that special." Then she looked at me so intensely and said, "But don't let anyone take that away from you...ever. Because you just gave birth to Logan, and no one, anywhere, has ever or will ever give birth to that baby. You just did something that no one in the world can ever do or has ever done." It was the best gift that my mother has ever given me, and she is a pretty amazing gift-giver.

Logan has received some pretty incredible gifts, compliments of CoCo and Don. CoCo and Don apparently think that large, noisy, extravagant, or a combination of any of those variables disguised as gifts makes children love their Godparents even more. In all fairness, this technique works. How in the world Logan know that the "pop and push" (noisiest toy in production) lawn mower, the Little Tykes Craftsman tool bench, and the kiddie recliner in his room all came from CoCo and Don is beyond me, but they clearly have made an impact! The Craftsman tool bench has been a big hit from day 1, and it found a home in my kitchen (the perfect place for a tool bench). With the tool bench came several tools, of course, each of which makes some loud noise. The staple gun is Logan's favorite, and my arch nemesis until recently. It has not one, but two sections that make noise. The first is the area where you place the "staples." The second is the area where the staples would come out - it makes this fantastic "click click" that will forever be ingrained in my head. Logan likes to "clickclick" Nathan and me...on the hand, on the head, where ever. I gave a resounding "OUCH!" the other day. Logan, holding the staple gun in one hand, pointed at me with the index finger of the other hand. He looked right into my eyes, and said, "That not hurt you! That a 'boo boo tayka!' Make itall betta. It not hurt you." A boo boo taker? "Yep. A boo boo tayka," he confirmed. Turns out, my two and a half year old has his own set of superpowers. But he's like Batman - his superpowers come from gadgets. He has a boo boo taker, and he's going to make it all better. I bet that lady who stole my 5 hour labor doesn't have a kid with a boo boo taker...and likely no one does, because no one, anywhere, will ever or has ever given birth to Logan...no one but me.