There’s a lot to be said about being a mom and single – at the same time. And while it may not have been in our top ten list of things we wanted to be when we grew up, it does give us some pretty awesome opportunities for self discovery.
Whereas once upon a long time ago I was meek – to the point where I would shut my mouth for fear of hurting someone else’s feelings – I am now kick-ass mouthy when it comes to standing up for myself and for my kids.
The opportunity to discover just how assertive I’ve become came sometime between yesterday and this morning – also known as the middle of the night. And it came in the form of my phone ringing and waking everyone up.
Me: Hello?
Man’s voice: Um . . . Val?
Me: What?!!
Man’s voice: Is Val there?
Me: NO! AND DON’T CALL MY HOUSE AT THIS TIME.
Man’s voice: I’m sorry. I thought . . .
Me: You thought? I suggest you give THAT up. And soon.
Man’s voice: I though . . . I mean. I’m sorry. Won’t happen again.
The beauty of this is that I didn’t need to depend on the gruffness of testosterone-infused vocal chords to get my message across.
And when I say that I was once meek, I’m not kidding. I can remember a time when I would have been the one apologizing for the fact that he dialed the wrong number.
In an oops-I’m-sorry-that-the-six-in-my-phone-number-got-in-the-way-of-the-five-that-you-wanted-to-press way.
After hanging up I felt so empowered that I headed into the kitchen to make myself a manwich.
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