Reflecting on Two YearsPosted by admin on January 12th, 2010
In the rush to put together a birthday party for my big 2-year-old, I didn’t have much time to be in disbelief about the quick passage of time. Since then, though, I’ve been amazed every day by his verbal prowess, the rate at which his feet are growing, and the fact that before I know it, I will have a “kid,” not a “toddler.”
There have been many turning points since January 2, 2008, when he was born. My emotional growth in these two years has mirrored my son’s physical growth. A lot has changed: my educational attainment, my relationship status, my locale, and my waistline.
I have learned that:
- motherhood gives you instincts you never knew you had.
- I can never get enough of newborns.
- Murphy’s Law applies to family outings: the one time you forget the diaper bag, there will be an accident.
- sleep is a commodity, for which I must bargain with myself and my child.
- a person can live in sweatpants for approximately 3 days before getting the urge to clean up and dress up.
- breastfeeding gives you the lifelong gift of a child who never gets sick.
- there are many breeds of mothers, and I’m glad to be in the “young mom” category.
- little ones absorb the emotional state of the adults around them, and can sometimes provide the most comfort in hard times.
- I hate parenting in front of other people. I do best with everything from story time to tantrums when it’s just the two of us.
- Elmo’s got soul.
- one can expect to lose a significant percentage of one’s friends when a child arrives.
- pregnancy is thrilling; giving birth in a hospital is not.
- so many pieces of a personality are hard-wired from birth.
- I can maintain an interest and participation in the things that are important to me AND be a loving, present mother.
- car seats are the most annoying apparatuses ever invented.
- I am not a worrisome parent, but I am an easily frustrated one.
- my world can expand laterally.
I keep a journal in which I write little notes to my son. Maybe someday he’ll enjoy reading my thoughts throughout the years. I frequently have the urge to talk to the adult version of this person I’m guiding through life, and I wonder what I’ll say to him in ten, twenty, forty years. I am already proud of who he is, and aching for more clues as to who he’ll become.
February 4th, 2010 at 1:46 pm
Oh, yes! I will agree with every single point in your beautiful list. Especially the part about hating to parent in public. I always feel myself judged and I can see how I´m overreacting with my daughter.