Reasons I Love/Hate Mom

She tells me all the things I’m doing wrong with Christian: holding him too much, letting his nails get too long, letting him get too cold…
When she holds Christian she leans forward and whispers, “I’m always available for you, Christian.”
She says I need help cleaning the house.
She cleans the kitchen grout with a scrubby brush and clorox.
She says I should let Christian cry once in a while.
When she holds Christian, she takes deep breathfuls of his new baby smell. And when she lies down for a nap, she wants to sleep with him for his warmth.
She covets my stuff: my toenail polish, my slippers, my garlic press, my meat tenderizer. (I gave her the slippers.)
She brings me refills on my favorite face cream (which I can no longer afford) and bath salts she bought at the Dead Sea. And she brought Bella “gim,” roasted seaweed, from Korea.
She pokes me in the belly and asks if I’m expecting another baby.
She cooks up hearty Korean meals – all my favorites, including the post-birth soup, myuk guk, which is very high in iron. And she takes me out to eat and orders take in too.
She tells me I’m spoiling Bella.
She takes Bella out on a congratulations-you’re-an-older-sister shopping spree.