why the drive that took three hours longer than it should have was worth it in the end
August 15th, 2010
Disclaimer: No children or adults were harmed in the making of this blog post. Although once while they were all on the trampoline Annalie winced, and when Troy asked her what was wrong, she replied, “Oh, nothing. Just a little pain.”
love to the power of awesome
August 7th, 2010
My friend Kassie wrote a blog post the other day about how much fun it’s been for her and Joe to hang out with some of their preteen and teenage relatives recently, which has reaffirmed their decision to have kids. She asked any parents reading her post to share the good stuff about having kids. I left a mile-long comment sharing my thoughts, and Kassie told me I should make it into its own blog post. Voila.
Before I share my parental dirt, let me say this: Of course whether or not to have kids is an intensely personal decision, and I firmly believe that anyone who doesn’t want kids should NOT have them. That said, and knowing and loving you and Joe as I do, I think you will be some of the best parents any kid could ask for, and that your kids will probably be some of the coolest, smartest, kindest, most fun people to ever walk the planet.
Being a parent is hard, yes. But I think you guys have been around your cousins and nephews (and honorary nieces and nephews) enough that you know about all the hard stuff. You’re prepared for it. You probably don’t get to hear about the good stuff nearly often enough.
On an episode of Frasier once he told Roz that the great thing about being a parent, the thing you don’t know till you have kids, is that you don’t just love your kids. You fall in love with them, too. And it’s so true.
The things like poop explosions and middle-of-the-night vomiting and constant worry about your child’s safety aren’t really a big deal. For some reason, when it’s your kid you’re dealing with, those things pale in comparison to the good stuff. It’s a little embarrassing—and totally liberating—how proud a grown adult can be about a baby’s smile or love of smushed peas or ability to do a thumbs-up.
Little kids say hilarious things on a regular basis, which has great entertainment value.
And older kids are the best! When I was a summer camp counselor, I remember being really nervous about my first cabin full of young teenagers. Would I be able to control them? Would they be too cool for me? Would they laugh at and/or ignore everything I said!? Of course that turned out to be my FAVORITE age to work with. Later in college I was a middle-school tutor for four years, and I loved that too. Teenagers can be a pain in the rear, sure, but so can toddlers and preschoolers. But teenagers are so awesome with their enthusiasm and fresh perspective on “grown-up” problems.
Having kids teaches you how to be selfless, how to put another person’s well-being and happiness above your own. And that can only be a good thing in this world, and for our own personal growth, right? Just today I had a pregnancy-hormone-driven RAGE-filled temper explosion that got directed at Annalie and made her cry for ten minutes. It sucked and made me feel awful. I never want to feel like that again; I never want to make another person feel like that again. But when it was over and Annalie came snuffling out of her room, she ran at me and wrapped her arms around me in such a big hug and whispered, “I’m sorry, mama. I know you’re having a bad day,” and my heart broke in two in a really fantastic way.
The love you feel for your kids really isn’t like anything else in the world. It’s like love to the power of awesome. If it could only be bottled and sprayed over the entire Middle East we’d probably have a lot fewer suicide bombings.
(Note that this is probably the corniest you will ever hear me get. I’m done now.)
(Italicized portion was originally a comment on the post Breeders at Bravely Obey.)
pink is the new…uh, pink!
July 22nd, 2010
Because I’m of “advanced maternal age” now (I’m 35), there have been a few more blood tests and things with this pregnancy than with Annalie. One of those tests was a 20-week ultrasound today. Annalie and Troy both were there too, which was a relief. Troy wasn’t sure if he’d be able to get an hour or two off work as they were in the middle of prepping for a last-minute presentation to some Navy bigwigs. At the last minute he called and said he was leaving work and he would meet us at the clinic. Whew! I’d have hated for him to miss it, since he probably won’t get to be at any other doctor’s appointments for this baby. We’ll be lucky if he makes it to the birth, with how busy this job is keeping him.
Anyway, we were all there to find out that this baby is a GIRL!
The other things that were checked with this ultrasound—the baby’s size, brain, stomach, heart, amniotic fluid, etc.—were all fine. Or as the cheerful doctor told us with his Italian accent, “Norrr-MAL, norrr-MAL, everything looks perfectly norrr-MAL. Good, good, good. What a good little baby she is!” He said everything looked so normal that I might not even need a 32-week ultrasound. And while it would be fun to see the baby again before she’s born, I can’t say I would mind losing one doctor’s appointment in those last couple of months. There will already be plenty of them to deal with.
Annalie has been petitioning us for a baby sister for years now. She was thrilled to hear that she’s finally getting one. She had several name suggestions ready—Daisy, Daffodil, Rose—which is three more names than Troy and I have thought of.
Annalie also pointed out to us that her baby sister would be able to wear her old clothes, but she was a little worried that she would have to share her toys. Once I assured her that she and the baby will be far enough apart in age that they probably won’t be much interested in the same toys at the same time, she was fully enthusiastic about a girl baby. “But still…” she mused, “maybe we can put a baby gate in front of my bedroom so my little sister can’t get in my room and break my stuff.”
So I guess we’ll continue to have lots of pink in our lives! Although really, Annalie’s favorite color until quite recently was blue. Now she goes back and forth between blue, purple, and pink. And although I have nothing against pink, Annalie was far more likely to be dressed in a variety of primary colors when she was a baby. Hmm. Maybe those early fashion choices I made for her are behind her love of crazy combinations of pattern and color today.
Maybe I should just dress this kid in head-to-toe pink!
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