When I first started the stay-at-home gig with a new bundle of joy just home from the hospital, I also had Elijah, at 2 1/2 years-old to entertain. And since I was fresh off of a busy teaching schedule, I was under the impression that I needed to be an activities director for him - joining this class and that class, and heading to the children's museum and the library story time and creating stations at home to do art, and play-doh and games. Because I fell for this, we rarely just hung out and relaxed. I totally missed the whole new mom, only child, sleep- when-the-baby-sleeps phenomenon. I think I would have loved that. I was always jealous of friends who just took their newborn from restaurant to mall to nail salon because the baby just slept, so easy. I could have tried for that luxury, actually I did several times, but a toddler doesn't care so much about their mom's desire to be with grown-ups in quiet places. I luckily had friends in the same stage as I was in, so our big kids hung out while we talked paci's and diaper rash and "crying it out." This was really nice for me, except this was also the time period when I was incredibly insecure about my parenting (not that I'm super confident now) so I compared advice, and kids, and worried about my approach and every single decision. Somewhere along the way, I realized that obsessing took up a lot of needless energy. I have also realized that going to prayer about why Elijah has a temper or why Lanie struggles with potty-training, or why Lydia is so sensitive is a lot more fulfilling than going to everyone else. Oh, I still talk ad-nauseam about kid issues because that's just what you do when you're life is kind of bent around their little lives, but hopefully now it's more for the humor than for the worry.
All this to have you jump ahead about 7 years. My two days at home with Lanie are night and day, Night and Day, I tell you, from my life with Elijah and Lydia as a baby. I can't even believe it. And that's what these pictures are all about. We're still busy, but this time, Lanie is the activities director. She wants to put on a puppet show - I sit and watch. She wants to paint - I set up the spot and I watch her spill paint everywhere. She wants to play whac-a-mole, we sit and she slams the mallet. We don't just sit. There are a lot of errands being run as well, and to me, errands are pretty fun with just one kid. But our time is just a lot of Lanie making decisions while I am along for the ride. And I will admit, that ride is an upside down roller coaster for us, not a gentle ferris wheel. With Lanie, you have to be prepared. Because with her, there's a surprise loop around every corner of that rickety track.
God saw to it that life for us wouldn't be without challenges trying to raise 3 unique little people -- because kid 1 is nothing like kid 2 who is a 180 degrees from kid 3. They are Night and Day. Night and Day, I tell you.
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