The Epidemic Among Us

 

Has anyone else noticed the epidemic among us? Everyone and their sister is having a baby. The other day I mentioned to someone that I could name 15 women off the top of my head that were expecting, and this number is only growing! So of course, yesterday I found myself at a baby shower. It got me thinking about one of mine last year. We played a game that involved passing Advice on to the expecting mother. "Nap when the baby naps", "The Cleaning can wait til tomorrow", "Accept help when it's offered".

Well I'm calling BS on all of it, in my opinion at least. Whether or not we were going to play this game at the baby shower, I couldn't seem to come up with any advice at all. I love my kids to the moon and back but why couldn't I think of one, just one positive thing to say.

I don't think I've ever napped when my kids are napping and I'm certainly not putting cleaning off until tomorrow. That just leaves a bigger mess...tomorrow. And if People are coming to "help" me, I certainly do not want to look incompetent and have a messy house. This is the way my brain works.

I recently read an article by Dan Pearce about 16 ways to blow your marriage. He describes his family on the eve of his sister's wedding and everyone is giving her encouraging advice on Marriage. Dan, with two failed marriages had only jokes about what NOT to do. So, as I was laying in bed the other night, exhausted from the days events of "Don't sit on your brother" and "Stop trying to drown yourself in the bathtub" I could only think of a thousand reasons NOT to have a kid. First off, this baby shower was a surprise. This definitely wouldn't work for me since I had been rotating 3 pairs of sweat pants for the last week. Children do Miraculous things for your body. I'm pretty sure I haven't slept in 3 years (Bill will say otherwise) and when I'm looking at pictures of myself from 3 years ago, I can visibly see the difference the stress has caused. It's like looking at the President after 4 years in office. Yes, I'm comparing my Job to running the Nation. As I'm typing this on my Beautiful Life-sucking Heaven of a couch I have, all I can smell is vomit (Really makes you want to come to my house, huh?)

Maybe you caught me on a bad week to ask such Life Altering questions, but why do we love our children so unconditionally? Let me tell you a little about my babies.

 

Leah...What can I say about Leah? She came into this world the exact same way she will probably leave it. Kicking and Screaming and on her terms. She is Fiery and Spunky and She Commands attention wherever she goes. Any time Bill and I brought her out, people would say she is the happiest baby, which could instantly change in a second. Leah is the comic relief of my day. She makes us laugh when she knows she's in trouble and finds joy in the smallest things.

 

Liam came into this world, again on his terms. I begged for him to come out. I walked and Jogged and squatted til I finally asked to be induced. But he decided to come out just on time, he wouldn't settle for anything else. Liam is the sweetest little boy in the world. He's so Gentle and Smart. At 13 months he's not sleeping through the night, but he makes cuddling at 2am seem like such a great idea. He makes us laugh because from day one he can't stay awake longer than 5 minutes of a car ride. He's fearless and is bound and determined to be a trailblazer.

 

 

Do these things make sense to anyone else? It's the exact opposite of advice. I really have no advice on what to do or how to survive til the next day. I can't not explain my profound love for my children or the desire to have more. It is an unexplainable joy disguising itself as an exhausted, overworked, and starving burden. I find myself at the end of the day shaking my head in amazement and laughing to myself that something or someone could knock you off your feet and rock you to the core.

So, all in all, in my round about way, I offer this to you. My advice; Just enjoy. Enjoy the Unconditional Love, the sleepless nights, and the Endless tears because babies are only babies once.


"The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,
for children grow up, as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.
I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep"