Sara McGinnis
posted in Celebrities
Jennifer Garner isn't afraid to admit sometimes her best efforts as a parent fall short. The actress, who has three children with husband Ben Affleck, has opened up to InStyle about their very different roles and trying to balance work and home life.
The mother of Violet, Seraphina and Samuel on her and Ben's evolving relationship:
"When we had our first, we had only been together a year. We were babies. It happened so fast, I hardly even remember what we were like before the kids got here. Now we're just starting to go away for a night here and there. You go through phases. You can't expect to be courted all the time, and I don’t want to court him right now — I don’t have the energy! But we’re definitely in a very mindful place where we're making an effort to be together, do things at the same time, and be loving."
Jennifer Garner on being the 'bad cop' with the kids:
"For better or worse, I tend to be the one who says, 'This is what needs to happen.' I know who wants what lunch, and I've done all the school paperwork and filled out the emergency cards. Ben doesn't even know that stuff exists. He is in charge of laughter. No matter how much I tickle them or toss them or chase them around, it's not the same. If I'm the slow, steady drumbeat, he's the jazz."
On being mom and wife first, Hollywood star second:
"I'm still wiping a bottom, making three meals a day, dealing with sass—and also trying to work. I don't always do it all well. At bedtime last night my middle child said, 'I feel like you never have time to play with me.' I thought, 'My mom never played with me. I'm trying!' But you know what? She's right. So my goal is to play dolls with her all afternoon. I guess I would say for this stage of my life, I'm in the thick of it."
That honesty right there makes it pretty easy to see why BabyCenter users voted Jennifer Garner their very favorite celebrity mom!
Although I only have two kids compared to the Affleck's three, so much of what Jennifer said rings true for me. I too look back now and think my husband and I were just babies when we had babies (married at 21, two kids at 24), and I'm also the one that fills out the school forms and keeps things running.
Am I in the thick of it, though? That is one point that's causing me to ponder a bit. The Affleck kids are 8, 5, and 2 while my boys are 9 and 8 -- in day-to-day life that's a pretty big difference. I haven't wiped anyone else's butt in years or gone to 'mommy and me' story time. I guess I'm past the thick of it in that sense, though it doesn't feel like I'm anywhere near out of the woods.
Do you feel you're in the thick of it right now? Why or why not?
Photo: REX USA/Rex
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