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The Smell of Kid


Some days my whole life smells like peanut butter. It’s not necessarily a bad smell, just persistent and prevalent with mild hints of glue, sweat, and baby wipes. It’s the smell of kid.

These are the kind of days that my girls bring home play dates who won’t eat what I’ve prepared for lunch, and a full carton of milk gets spilled under the refrigerator, and a mouse gets caught in the “have a heart trap” my husband set before he left on his overnight trip, and an innocent attempt to appease (and quiet) my children leads to an hour-long bath trying to remove bubble gum from three thick and golden locked girls.

I am becoming who I hoped I would be

By the time I collapse into bed, not failing to collapse on an open tube of blueberry-bubblegum flavored lip-gloss; the smell of kid is thick enough to cut.

The truth is, I love it. I always imagined myself as a Momma, sweat and peanut butter and all. In fact, aside from being a philanthropist, being a mother was the only thing I was sure I wanted to be when I grew up.

I remember one day sitting on a bench in the Old City of Tsfat watching life go by. A beautiful woman strolled through the square, with a long flowing skirt and a sweet bald headed baby strapped to her back. Her baby was holding crackers and methodically smashing them into crumbs and applying them with delicacy and precision to his adoring mother’s neck and shoulders. And I couldn’t help but think to myself, “she looks so cool.” I took a mental picture of her swaying by me, purposeful, peaceful, grounded, and beautiful, and said to myself, “I want to look like that one day.”


Over a decade has passed since that day in the square, and at the moment, I wouldn’t exactly say I look “cool.” It’s 12:30 in the afternoon and I’m still in my pajamas. I’m carrying my bald headed beauty in utero, which definitely has a certain mystique, but only when I wear maternity clothes, otherwise I just look like I need to do some sit-ups. I am doing my best to hold a commanding role in the “peaceful” department, but can’t claim to have mastered that yet. But, in all ways that really matter, I can safely say that I am becoming who I hoped I would be.

I suppose it is a blessing to feel this way.

Finding sanctity in the mundane and humor in the absurd is what it is really all about. Ultimately, being a mother is all about stretching. Stretching beyond our self- imposed limits and fears, stretching even further into unquenched ambitions and dreams, and even further still into the realm of action and actualization. It’s definitely not easy, but it is good.


I had a cleaning help today. The bathtub and toilets and floors have been scrubbed, the dishes are clean, and the laundry is folded. My house looks and smells fresh and clean. It feels organized, and tidy, and quite frankly, it feels wonderful.

The kids will be home soon. When they arrive, like the tides at sea, the look, feel and smell of our home will gradually change. Soon, the floor will scuff and backpacks and shoes and jump ropes will find their way to the most unlikely of places. The crispness and cleanliness will lose its potency. But there will be a sense of life and joy in our home that was absent when they were away. The smell of kid will permeate every corner of our little home, and I will love every whiff of it.

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By Sarah Zadok   More articles...  |   RSS Listing of Newest Articles by this Author
Sarah Zadok is a childbirth educator, doula, freelance writer and regular contributor to TheJewishWoman.org. She lives in the Golan Heights, Israel with her husband and five children.

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Reader Comments
Latest Comments:
Posted: Apr 15, 2007
"The Smell of Kid"
I love this essay, and not only because my son's name is Noah! Sarah Zadok is one of several columnists whose work I truly cherish. In this hyper-sanitized, over-automated, over-scheduled society, there is less and less room for the simple, beautiful, wonderful messiness of childhood and family. I love Ms. Zadok's Noah's ark analogy - how perfect, and how beautiful. To me, Ms. Zadok's essay reminds us to heed the pulse of lovingkindness and gratitude for those whom we love, instead of being guided by the manic pulse of a society that is, increasingly, spiritually bereft. Thank you, as always, for publishing such moving writing.
Posted By Jampa Naphtali Williams, West Hartford, CT

Posted: Nov 16, 2006
The wonders of parenthood
The wonders, and smells of parenthood is something one can't buy from a bottle at all! And I would not trade motherhood for anything, or any other job in the world. The challenges are so great, and many times our patiences tested! Childhood years are much more easier to deal with than those hormone laced teeange years. Believe me I have the gray hairs coming in in droves from raising as a single divorced mom Baruch Hashem 16 year son all by myself. But the one blessing from Hashem from my former difficult marriage is the birth of my one and only precious son. And sometimes when he presses my mother bottons with his teenage quest for independence, I am ready to pull; my hair out of my head. But I none the less love him, and would do anything for him within limits and reason. After having a recent diffcult time with him dealing with his feelings of abaddoment by his dad, and normal teen issues, i want him to read here, that I do love him!
Disipline is out of love not hate.
Posted By Anonymous, Brooklyn, NY

Posted: Nov 15, 2006
smiling
Your article made me smile. It was a good reminder for me to keep things in perspective, next time I start stressing out about the parts of parenting I find stressful, I think, I will try to stop and smell "the smell of kid".
Posted By esther, brooklyn, ny

Posted: Nov 8, 2006
Thanks
It is a lovable article. I have 3 kids, 14, 12, and 10 years of age and through the reading of your wonderful piece I travel back on time when they were babies, and easier to handle than in the puberty, and it is also a reminder to me to keep appreciating and thanking G-d day after day for all the blessing of being a mother.

Blessings from heaven to your family.
Posted By Greisys Urquia, New York City, NY

Posted: Nov 8, 2006
sweet smell of success
I immensley enjoyed your article. It's hits really close to home. After the house slows down, and it's peacefully waiting for me to restore order I can smell it too! Slowly wafting through the house, but unmistakable..the kids. They are a blessing, At times I really have to repeat it to myself incessantly to get through the mess, but as soon as I see their beeming faces, I see the blessing, and I don't need to remind myself. Thank you for your article, it was a pleasure to read.
Posted By Ruth, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Posted: Nov 7, 2006
The Smell of Kid
I'm away from my kids I left them in the Philippines year 2001 Baruck Hashem last year 2005 I finally seen them. Right now my two sons were already grown ups and my daughter is 13 and she will be here soon in America! It touches me so deep to be with them and enjoy the essence of being a KID not to complain of all the mess they made in the house, how they jump up on the bed, and how hey eat their food careleslly. I feel great for you I have the same joy each day as I recall that I'm with my children.
Posted By Deborah S. Wohl, Leander, TX

Posted: Oct 29, 2006
You hit the point!
I love that! Its exactly what it is!!
Posted By fay richlined

Posted: Oct 24, 2006
The Smell of Kid
You hit some extremely important themes in your article. Things chage rapidly with children. Calm states become raging storms in the blink of an eye and parents have to be able to adapt and understand that these charges are a normal part of life. You corraltion between Noah and parenting was insightful and meaningful. We can draw much from your correlation. Understanding that change, e.g., clean outfits get dirty, and bubble gum sometimes ends up in hair, etic is merely a minor fact of life. We need the koach to roll with the punches and restorre calm where possible. Parenting like any profession requires study, reflection and practice and patience. I really enjoyed your insights and perspective. Thank you!
Posted By Marc L. Levitt, Ph.D., Los Angeles, CA, USA

Posted: Oct 24, 2006
comment
I love this piece. A joy to read, true and funny and real.....I can smell those delicious kids from here.
Posted By Tova Pollen, Monsey, NY

Posted: Oct 23, 2006
I love what you wrote
true, honest and beautiful. A wonderful piece of writing. Thanks for the inspiration and charm.
Posted By chana, amherst, ma



 


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