MariMama

3-12-15

I am a Marijuana Mama and am becoming rather proud of it.

Every afternoon at 3:40, my children sit down at the table and pull out their homework. Let me clarify; they sit down and I start what is a 2 hour battle to get them to not only get out their homework, but get them to get it done in a timely fashion. On our best days, it is still at least a 30 minute stress fest that has been handled many different ways in the past, including drill sergeant mode to passive hippie. They all seem to have their cons, but I have finally discovered the best way to stay as even keel.

When I arrive home from work, a good two hours before diving in the trenches, I take a couple of hits. I am not completely baked, but a fog of euphoria certainly washes over me. I can let go of work drama and in some strange backlash against stereotype, I become very productive. One day this week I not only swept the house and worked on dishes, but I also re-arranged and cleaned the catio before the boys arrived home. It turns out pot is the fire to light up my productivity lamp.

Once those two hours have passed, my high instead turns into a perfect mellow in which even though I have to stay on my offspring to keep on task, I don’t feel the same level of absolute frustration that takes place with the burden of homework.

The jokes you hear about being a parent these days often have punch lines including copious amounts of liquor, mostly in the form of wine. There was a time when truly every time the boys whined, I also wined. I got my prescription a little over a year ago and my drinking has gone by the wayside. It is wonderful since I feel like when I have a cocktail now, it is because I like the taste, not just the slight numbing effect it has.

It could be considered poor parenting to be advocating the positive effects of cannabis. I think that would be a closed minded view on this. Any parent these days will tell you about the hells of the homework hour(s). I don’t know of anyone who doesn’t want to pull their hair out at least once a week because of a sheet of long division questions their 10 year old has to complete. Even Kindergarteners seem to have a great deal of paperwork going home each day. Sure, it is mostly basic concepts, but it is still a chunk of time that parents must take with their kid to force them to do more school work after they just spent 6 hours doing the same thing. I know I would be pretty resentful if every day when I got home from work that I was then forced to do more work in the sanctuary I call home.

I am glad that there is a product that allows me to navigate these tricky waters that include science fair projects and essays and reports on crumbling missions. With each week, I see yet another chunk of time spent on how to count using a number line or a story about what you would do if you had rockets for feet. I do love watching them learn since I am not always privy to that phenomenon the way I was when I was their only teacher. Sadly, it is often easy to forget the wonder that is a child’s brain when you are racking your own on how to get them motivated to get it done.

I will continue to explore the powers of pot and how it helps me be a better member of my household. Not only does it mellow me when I need to be calm for my children and amp me when laundry needs to be done, but it also sometimes forces me to simply become part of the couch. When I relax, my husband and children feel they can. It is healthy to sometimes just watch a couple of mindless shows in order to give your brain a chance to reboot. I find that if I have a couple of puffs an hour or so before bed, I will sit and watch a show and then crawling into bed I feel blissful. I don’t have all of the things on my mind that need to be done. All of that was put on hold the minute I allowed myself to take off the cape and be a civilian for a while.

Whatever you can do to be a better parent to the children you are raising is something to be proud of. I am taking care of my mental well-being, which in turn is hopefully going to result in happy childhood memories for my boys. Isn’t that reason enough?