Friday, August 27, 2010

5 Things I hadn't considered when I decided to have children...

I feel like I'm in a pretty good place with my family.  While it would have been interesting to experience parenting a daughter, I'm more than okay with the fact that I have 3 healthy, wanted boys.  There are some things, however, that I hadn't anticipated about being a parent.  Things like:
  • They would be such perceptive creatures and so willing to share their observations.  Especially about things like my roots showing and the zit that popped up (literally) on my chin.  Thanks, guys.  How about you go pick up from your bedroom floors the clothes you are apparently immune to noticing?
  • That the day would come when I would ask them how I rate on a scale of 1-10 as a Mom and feel challenged by my ratings (6.5 and 7.5) average of 7.  I was gratified to learn that I earned big points for "taking us to cool places," and secretly pleased that I lost points for "being embarrassing."  What can I say?  It is such a typical, traditional parent thing to do that I find it funny.
  • There would be occasions when I would mentally call my children names not to be shared here.  Parents - use your imagination.
  • How funny kids are and the way their laughter is infectious.  And how pleased I would be knowing they share private jokes among themselves.
  • The consistent and reliable response my body evokes when I imagine something happening to one of my children - bottom dropping out of stomach, blurred vision complete with tear-filled eyes, immediate clamminess... Being a parent truly is like having a vital organ living outside of your body.
Parents - what has surprised you about parenthood?

2 comments:

  1. When they hurt, you feel physical and psychic pain. How does that really happen?

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  2. How physically and mentally exhausting it is at the end of every single day, how much they remind us of us, how incredibly funny they are and lastly, how different E is from M. I mean really different.

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