WATCH: Moms, an apology from your formerly judgey childless friend, Hilary

Mommies, I’ll admit I’ve seen you at work, disheveled, covered in gooey handprints of god knows what from your kid’s morning adventures, and thought, “I am so glad that is not me,”(I spill enough on my own clothes!). It’s not that I don’t like children, I do. My niece and nephew and the children of my close friends are amazing but at the same time, for a semi germ-a-phobe they are pretty darn gross! How many times have I been handed a newborn after feeding to show me how “ adorable” to have the little darling vomit down the front of my favourite silk blouse. Sure, their little bellies are just learning to digest but the gross along with the possibility of emotionally scarring a young human are probably why I’ve avoided children of my own.
A few weeks back, Amanda in promotions asked Curtis & I what our biggest fears are, I of course answered “Being a Parent”! The Canadian Cancer Society is running a campaign right now called The Fearless Challenge because people with Cancer face their fears every day. So as my assignment chose to overcome my fear of parenting and document the experience to raise some cash and awareness for a great cause. Amanda and I cooked up the idea that I would take Pheobe, her 3 year old daughter who is right in the midst of potty training for 24hrs, all by myself. Here is my challenge video.

This is what I learned over the 24 hrs:

1. WHEN SOMETHING GOES IN A CHILD, SOMETHING USUALLY COMES OUT:
I showed up at Amanda’s on Friday night for dinner with the entire family until the shyness wore off at which point mom and dad snuck out for their night alone. Just as we finished supper and mom and dad were heading out of course, It happened…potty time! There is nothing that can teach person humility quite like wiping another human’s rear end

2. THAT MOMENT OF “QUIET” IS USUALLY WHEN THE CHAOS BEGINS:
Kids play, right? They are boisterous and loud and they love involving the people around them. Whatever you do though, don’t wish for a moment of silence because THAT is when the real trouble begins. That moment you say to yourself “Ahhh, I can finally relax” is when your precious three year old has gone purse diving and helped herself to your favour $30 MAC lipstick that has been discontinued.

3. TEMPER TANTRUMS CANNOT BE RATIONALIZED
I’ll admit mommies, when I used to see you at the mall, the grocery store or the restaurant and your child was LOSINGING it crying and kicking and screaming…I totally judged you. I have thought to myself, why can’t they just reason with the child or maybe they need something they aren’t getting. But now I have learned that temper tantrums make absolutely no sense. They don’t happen because you won’t let the child play outside or have fries with supper, they happen over entirely inconsequential things. Things like not wanting to wear an orange shirt to soccer even though you are on the orange team or because your 3year old was offended you put the lids on the Play Dough instead of watching them struggle to do it for 45 minutes only to end up in tears because they can’t get it anyway.

4. THERE IS NOTHING BETTER THAN A BIG-LITTLE HUG
That moment when a child looks up at you and just wants a big ol’ squishy hug. THAT is just the best.

If nothing else, this Fearless Challenge has taught me that facing your fears has huge pay offs. I suppose, I just never thought I would be a good parent, having spent much of my adult life pouring myself into my career and relationships and occasionally losing my sense of self which is why I could never imagine life when faced with what Whitney Houston once described as “The Greatest Love Of All”. Sure, parenting is difficult, and yes I understand that 24hrs with a child in no way represents the reality of it but while we were on our way to soccer Saturday morning and I peered into the back seat through the rearview to see Phoebe’s little smile in a white soccer shirt not an orange soccer shirt and little dog Bruiser seated happily beside her, I realized I could do this and more than anything, could want to do this.