Not the ...

So with another trip to Bristol underway for Rhys to have surgery we're having to deal with the who am I questions being asked by doctors and nurses.

Yesterday evening we were sitting by Rhys' bed and one of the hospital registrars came to talk to us. As usual we were asked who we were. Turning to me he asked "are you Mum?" Pointing towards my wife I shook my head "No, that's Mum".

"So you are?"

"I'm Not the Mum" I replied.

The registrar looked at me for a few seconds as he digested this piece of information and I could see the cogs whirring in his head.

"Oh, OK" was his reply, finally, as some sort of understanding occurred.

Later the nurse that was looking after Rhys came in to do some paperwork. My wife wasn't around at the time so when it came to names her's was already written down as Mum. We didn't bother explaining my exact relationship just gave my name and my mobile number.

I've lost count of the number of times that people that have seen my son and I together have referred to me as his mum. As much as I appreciate it, and I understand why people do it; there is no mistaking that he is my son as the resemblance between the two of us has been pointed out by people and I'm female, I am not his Mum, that's my wife. Still when I said to my wife that I should have a tee-shirt printed with Not the Mum on it she didn't argue against it, neither did she make any comment when I said that when people ask who I am we can use Not the Mum.

I might not persuade them to refer to me with some form of variant of Mum instead of Dad but Not the Mum is a good compromise.