Yet again, my lovely daughter – Pumpkin – uttered those wonderful words: “Mama, I love you the best of all !”  And, once again, my wife – BossLady – could not help but feel bad, wondering how I would be feeling about it. 

It had been happening more frequently than ever, lately.  Many a time, her little brother – Tiger – was also included in the superlative utterances.  The four items top-most on the list were : Mama, Tiger, Mary and Fluffy (her soft-toy) dog.  Mostly, it was Mama-and-Tiger, and sometimes also Mary-and-Fluffy.  But, never me.

So, when it happened for the umpteenth time the other day, I spotted some tears in BossLady’s eyes.  I told her I was really ok with it, and would explain it to her in detail soon.  I also remembered reading an eloquent post on this very dilemma, on MetroDad, so I googled it today to refresh my memory:

As I’ve mentioned here before, during the first year of the Peanut’s life, I was The Man!  To my lovely little daughter, I was the living embodiment of Christmas, Elmo, and an all-you-can-eat ice cream buffet…

But after her first year, I dropped in the standings.  BossLady was #1, the nanny was #2, and I was a distant third.  When we switched the Peanut to daycare, I thought I’d move up to the #2 spot but I was quickly displaced by one of the Peanut’s teachers.  Damn!

Now, although I have a vicious competitive streak, I would never try and compete with the BossLady for my daughter’s affections… So, if the Peanut loved BossLady more than she did me, so be it.  C’est la vie.  I wasn’t going to try and compete for her affections and I was just going to have to learn to accept that, in her own little way, the Peanut loved me too. Mature, eh?

Well, internet, I’m proud to say today that…I’M NUMBER ONE!  WOO HOO!  THAT’S RIGHT, AMIGOS!  NUMERO UNO!  WHO ROCKS THE PARTY?  I ROCK THE PARTY! NUMBER TWO IN YOUR PROGRAM, NUMBER ONE IN YOUR HEART!  I’M THE MOTHERFLIPPPING RHYMENOCEROUS!  HEY!  HO!

My own perspective is not unlike the one that MetroDad has blogged about.  Up until the point where he does reach the Numero Uno status, that is.  (I still haven’t!) 

Sure, there’s a part of me that craves for the attention that the wife enjoys with Pumpkin, even if it’s just for a little bit.  But, most of the time, I’m glad that BossLady and Tiger are that someone special for Pumpkin.  (And Mary, who’s loved her unconditionally since the day she was born.) 

In fact, there was a time when only Mary had the #1 status, and there were no #2 to # 10!!! 

So, when Pumpkin did grow to knowing her mother and understanding how much she loves her, I was only too glad.  Today, my little Tiger has shot up to the top spot from nowhere.  And, that’s alright too.  Some day, the list may also include moi… I’m not in a hurry.  As a wise man once said, “No appointment, No disappointment”. 

Bottom line: I couldn’t have asked for a more loving family.