Saturday, January 16, 2016

They

...are the reason this blog has remained quiet for a year.
...are similar and completely unique.
...make chugging a cold cup of coffee normal.
...inspire me to cook, innovate, be intentional, and create.  and suck all of the energy away that I have to do those things. sometimes by 6:45 a.m.
...are 6, 2, and 2.
...make me one of millions in a community of parents who share a bond over this relationship we live.
...can turn my house from tidy to Armageddon in 2.4 seconds.
...are responsible for making sure I have someone else's food or drink on my person at all times. (and by "on my person," I don't mean a closed sippy cup or neatly wrapped snack in my purse)
...have made my marriage stronger and harder.
...were all cloth-diapered and breast-fed.  and made the day I donated my Medela pump one of the happiest of my parenting existence. and I'm really proud of sticking to what I thought was best.
...make me cry.  proud tears, nostalgic tears, exhausted tears, doubting myself tears.  again, sometimes all by 6:45 a.m.
...eat a lot of groceries. so. many. gallons. of. milk.
...have re-shaped my body in some unfortunate ways.  and made me care less about that and more about keeping it healthy enough to be around to see grandchildren.
...have given me a deep appreciation for the beauty of well-written children's books and programming.
...make it hard to keep up with the things it takes to be a grown-up.  the amount of important everything that I forget on a daily basis is staggering.
...can make a day seem like it will never end while simultaneously making me wonder how they are growing up so fast.
...are a really good cover for keeping things like mac n' cheese, oreos, chicken nuggets, and string cheese in the house.
...make putting them first a mostly guilt-free decision.
...are all in bed.