Think having a 3 month old is hard? Try doing it while on crutches with an injured knee. This is certainly a situation tomboy mommies may find themselves in at some point. Parenting through sports injuries is a common scenario when you’re a tomboy mommy because your sports and activities lend themselves to injuries. Unfortunately, your little ones do not care that you are on crutches, they still want to be held. They don’t care you’ve blown your knee, they’re still going to climb all over you with little concern for the throbbing joint they are digging their little elbows into. People remind you that you have a newborn and a preschooler to keep up with at home. Internal dialogue set to mute and let’s continue.
What is the alternative? To not be active? To deny the outlets that prevent me from drinking excessively? There is no alternative. I am not a good mother when I cannot play. Yes, play- I don’t call it exercising. Exercising is what you do to look a certain way even though you hate the act of exercising. I hate exercising! I love to play though.
I never outgrew riding my bike and digging in the dirt and just competing physically. I never outgrew being a tomboy and have no intention of doing so, no matter what anyone thinks. Is parenting with a bum knee somewhat difficult? Why, yes, it is. But I have never allowed an injury to hold me back. I had a cast when I was 13 that had a half dollar sized hole worn in the heel from playing basketball on it (I had one of those foam roller shoes that velcroed to the cast, which allowed me to maneuver in it). Then, I went on a family vacation to the beach and got in the ocean in it. It was full of sand and seashells digging into my foot, but it was worth every second. In my twenties I got a high ankle sprain playing rugby. I certainly couldn’t play rugby in it and had no ability to perform change of direction motions with it. What I could do was peddle. Mt biking went from being a third of my activities to one hundred percent. I could handle the pressure of pedaling, even from a standing position, so I stayed active and fit during my recovery.
Now, with an inured knee, I’m parenting through injury again. Chasing my three year old through the house is a little awkward and the limp somewhat impedes my ability to appear entirely menacing to him when I have to march over to him as if I mean business. All in all though, we’re gutting our way through it. Thankfully, my knee is just a sprain, no tears to the internal structures of the knee joint. I can’t imagine having to recover from surgery with two little kids, but I assure you, we would have made it work.
The truth is, as a tomboy mommy, you live the way you always have, but you have more people reminding you that it’s not just about you anymore. What does that even mean? No kidding! You think I’m not aware of that fact? Look, being active keeps me sane and makes me a better parent. Having kids didn’t somehow change me so that all of the sudden my children’s accomplishments will supplant my own. Believe me, going to the dojo to fight for two hours a few times a week does wonders for my patience. Lifting weights and flipping tires is super for working out the tensions of the day. Hobbling around now and again is a small price to pay for being the best mommy that I can be.
The Tomboy Mommy 