Bad Parent: Mother's Little Helper
A parent defends her recreational drug use.
by M.J. Wilson
August 9, 2007
With munchies setting in, I bought us both crystallized sugar lollipops on wooden sticks — his first time seeing one, and my first time eating one in about twenty years. I marveled at the texture of the treat as I rubbed it back and forth on my tongue (so many corners!) and my son rejoiced in the infusion of sugar. Later, we walked by a fountain and threw in pennies. My son's wish was that we could take the fountain home with us. My wish was that I could always be this patient and kind and joyful.
I don't smoke pot on a daily basis, just as I don't make sugar crystal lollipops a staple of my son's diet. But I've been able to apply the lessons I learned about parenting while stoned to parenting while sober (and impatient and grouchy). I now believe that — in addition to doing all I can to raise him to be a decent and responsible human being — I need to, from time to time, get down on his level and really see what he sees, to rediscover pleasures like crayons or the sandbox.
There are those who believe anyone who gets stoned while caring for a child should receive a visit from child protective services. But there are times when I find myself snapping at my now six-year-old son over normal foibles, or when I find myself too distracted by mundane household chores to sit down and focus on his needs, I've been able to apply the lessons I learned about parenting while stoned to parenting while sober (and impatient and grouchy). that I realize that my making a quick and discreet trip to the garage would do me — and him — a world of good. When I return to the house, my son is none the wiser. All he knows is that his formerly stressed out mother is suddenly willing to hunker down on the rug to play Legos for an hour.
In an ideal world, I'd be able to do all of these things without the help of an herb. But the world isn't ideal. It's full of overflowing laundry hampers, dirty dishes and unanswered email. Pot's much-maligned amotivational properties I would term an enticement to "single-tasking." Erecting a temporary smokescreen is a way to block out the demands that take my attention away from my child. Plus, it makes Teletubbies a whole lot more interesting.
©2007 L.J. Wilson and Nerve Media
About the Author
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L.J. Wilson is the pseudonym of a writer living in California. |
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