Last night I babysat two of the sweetest, most adorable, little girls. I arrived early for the opportunity to play with them before their 7:00 pm bedtime. As I sat on the couch, anxiously awaiting "Daddy" to wrap up baths and bedtime prep, "Mommy" and I laughed as we discussed the little things that change when you have kids, really without trying.
Let me elaborate.
"Mommy" is shopping for a bag to tote her computer back and forth to work. Seems easy enough; might I suggest
my Brookstone bag? No, no - you see that just won't do. In addition to a laptop this bag must carry: diapers, a constant supply of snacks, under-eye concealer, lipstick, Advil, pictures of the babies, bottles, juice boxes, and of course this squeaky giraffe. You think you've found one big enough? Remember it must be "work-appropriate;" oh & it absolutely must have a closure otherwise all the aforementioned contents will be scattered all over the mall, the car, the living room, the stroller, etc.
"Mommy" just colored her hair, something I've done a million times. What does your two year old do when you come home as a blonde but you left as a red-head? Her answer: silently stare.
Do you know how capable you are of eating with only one hand? What about with a 2.5 foot tall, 30 lbs object on your lap, that is most likely swaying, bouncing, singing AND dancing? Sound easy?
These obviously only touch on the little changes you make in life without noticing. If you haven't read
this article on facebook, you should. It consists of 11 lessons before you think about having kids.
With all of this being said....I still love kids. I love spending time with the little ones in my family and look forward to the opportunity to have my own some day.
For everytime they dig through the oversize, maybe less than perfect bag you carry you get an image like this:
And for every blank stare you get, you see a 1,000 of these:
And after all, even though they make all the little tasks a little harder...
they make life a lot easier.
