Humour required to be a mother of HIGH FIVE

Okay, I am egged on to write this post because of Claire, she has started blogging so well mummy can't lose out right? What's more, her latest comment, "Mum, I think you should change your boring template!".

Seriously 2 recent encounters brought about this post. One a chance encounter with a fellow mother of many over a wedding dinner last Sun and two, an old friend's FB post about being offended if she was placed in the same situation as I, i.e. being asked by a polyclinic nurse if my brood of 5 was with the "same man". There were actually more "concerned" questions that I have come across like, "Do you know of family planning?", "Have you gone for family planning sessions?" to statements like, "Did you lose count?" (referring to number of kids and ahem of course my ovulation cycle) especially after they know of my occupation.

Guess I am more immuned than anything. Stares are always aplenty when I bring my brood out, even worse when I am alone with them. Some of the more subtle ones would secretly count behind my back to make sure that they are not seeing "things", that indeed I have 5 kids with me. It gets really funny when we go in and out of the lifts as other fellow passengers either do their "mental sums" to compute the number or outrightly with their fingers for the more mathematically challenged ones.

During my more KL days, I would just comment, "Don't have to count, I have 5 and they are all mine." Trust me, they look more embarassed than I do after that statement, look who has the last laugh here. Conversations will then lead on to, "Wow, where's their dad?", "Are you working?" or "How do you cope?". We must be a rare scene I gather.

Back in office, favourite tagline used to be, "She's on maternity leave again?" For the record, I only took 3 out of 5 maternity leave. Fondly remember a close friend of mine always teasing that I should surrender my CPA since I "can't count for nuts". My gynea, the one who delivered all five, would always give his sheepish, "Hi Christy, we meet again!". Indeed, the woman always get the brunt, don't we. MY ONE has it good with comments like, "You are the man!", "You deserve a national award", etc. Come on, it takes an attractive woman to "mate" this possible, right? (Pun intended!).

So borrowing a line from a fellow mother of many I met last Sun, "Our sense of humour will help us take all in our stride." I sure hope to be the last woman laughing in years to come.