Perspective 2009

Aubrey on the tractor at Auntie's cabin.

Mommies and daddies, have you ever thought back to your days as a young, married couple with no kids and wondered what you did with all of your time? I mean, seriously, before my world revolved around little people, what did I do? I don't remember having a ton of free time, but I'm sure I did...or at least from this perspective it seems that I would have. And back then, I remember thinking about my plans for life when I had little ones. We would go to this place, and do that thing, and it would always be a breeze. Funny how going to this place requires planning around nap times and kid friendly food options. And doing that thing isn't something your little one likes to cooperate with. I would never give up any of these unforeseen changes to my life. After all, that little person who complicates things, also brings me my greatest joys. It's just funny how things change as your perspective on life changes.

Take work for instance. To the working mom, it's easy to envy the stay at home mom, after all, it seems you do everything she does...on top of working. But for the stay at home mom, sometimes it would be nice to just get out of the house, away from all the obligations of being at home with the kids, and communicate with adults while making money. Working out of the house (a little bit, at least) sounds kind of nice. And then there's me...the part-timer. The best of both worlds, right? But then I have my sister's kids on my days off, so is that really a day off? And then there's the complication of figuring out part-time childcare. Next year, Christy and I are going to try to find childcare instead of swapping kiddos, so that we'll be able to spend more quality time with our own kids on our days off. Thursday, Friday and every other Wednesday is no easy arrangement. And is there any greater stress then figuring out a suitable guardian for your children? Perspective, I tell you.

Justin's Uncle Bob left a comment a while back. He said something like this, "if the grass looks greener on the other side, fertilize your own lawn." I love this quote. This year my goal is to do just that. And I'm also going to change my perspective; I'm going to stop looking at the other lawn and just focus on my own. There's no point in wishing for the free time of years past or a different work situation. This is the life I have, and it's a pretty good one.

My resolution for this year is to keep a healthy perspective. To focus on my blessings instead of my desires. To try to spend more quality time with Aubrey and Justin and less time on this silly computer. To focus on who Aubrey is right now before she grows up so fast I don't remember. To make sure I document the little things that make my her, her.

Things I don't want to forget about who Aubrey is at the beginning of 2009:

*You've become aware of your feelings. When you're upset about something you'll tell us that "Aubrey's sad". After church on Sunday you told us, "Aubrey have fun with her friends. Aubrey's happy."

*You're really into your ABC's and counting. You haven't quite mastered those ABC's but you're doing really well with a little prompting.

*You love giving hugs and kisses, especially to mommy and daddy. You'll kiss me over and over again and just keep your arms wrapped around my neck.

*You're still sensitive to large groups and new places. You take a while to adjust to situations, and you don't like it when people pick you up before you're ready.

*Lately you've been a big sleeper. All Christmas break you've been going to bed around 8:30 and sleeping in till about 9 with a 3 hour nap at around 1:30. (Mommy likes this!)

*You like playing a game with daddy where you'll say "Love you, mommy" instead of "Love you, daddy" because you like to see his reaction.

*You've decided that you like meat. You never ate meat before, but now all of a sudden you eat it like crazy.

*You randomly say thank you for certain things as you go through your day. It's the cutest thing ever. Ex: "Ahhh...thank you mommy for finding my shoes".

*You like to make us potato soup on your new play kitchen (I'll do a post about it soon :) ). Daddy made potato soup the day after you got your kitchen, so it seems you've got that stuck in your head.

*You like to hide in Mommy's closet and the pantry.

*You want us to go in your big girl room with you when you're playing with your toys.

*Whenever you dance, you say, "Shake your booty".

*You're a good girl, but you like to do things on your own terms. You don't like to be forced into doing something. We've figured out that counting works really well as a transition after a command. Usually you listen.

*Whenever we leave you somewhere like a relative's house or church, you constantly remind yourself that "mommy and daddy be back soon".

*You brighten each and every day I get to spend with you! You are the greatest gift I've ever received and each day I love you more!

At the cabin in Auntie's boots.