Tuesday, October 31, 2006
First of all....I just spent way too much on Shaklee products in preparation for 3 bazaars and 1 home show coming up soon! I love all the products so it was hard to narrow it down!
Both kids are sleeping......ahhhh....I sit down to write....then my mom calls asking to pick up Krispy Kreme pumpkin donuts for tonight....yum.... Oh yeah, I was going to write something profound....well, maybe just write something!
I remember that I originally started this blog because my husband was really getting into blogging and I felt left out! Also cuz I had a daughter under 1 year old and needed to have an outlet to connect to a bigger audience than just my baby!
Then in an effort to establish a professional link to my current life as a stay-at-home mom and my former life as a French teacher, (and try and fulfill more of our state's inane requirements for educators) I decided I was going to document my daughter's verbal patterns and progressions.... Well, let's just say that the title of this blog "Ramblings" just about covers the actual topic of this blog.... professional? not really.... unfocused mind chatter? yeah, pretty much :-)
The other day my friend Ronda (aka Rolanda and her blog is linked to my blog) wrote a post on Oct. 29th about having kids and also choosing not to have kids. It made me think back to the time when I didn't have kids as I often do, although it's a little foggy at times. Other times it is as clear as day. I remember traveling to France and through Europe on my own. Now we talk about going, but it's hard to think about how little toddlers would handle the culture shock--although they'd probably do better than some adults!--and hours of walking around cities. I think having kids requires me to think differently....Maybe instead of a city trip we'd plan to stay in a rental home that had a yard, a smaller city with the same feel of foreign culture, but less walking and fewer cars and crazy bus drivers. Activities may be limited, or maybe just variations of the same, when kids are involved.
When I am tired, it would be nice to know I could count on a full 7-8 hour night of sleep... Unfortunately, I can't count on that unless I ignore crying children (some nights). Fortunately, for me though, I am blessed to be able to rest at home during the day with my kids who are usually mellow and tired too if we all woke up a bunch of times throughout the night.
I'm not sure I quite know how to respond to Ronda's post. I think it's hard to imagine what life will be like with kids before they are actually in your life. I know I had one idea and truly my brain doesn't tend to be the best for abstract thought, but I'd say that imagining how life would be different 20 times a day probably doesn't actually capture the actual changes....am I making sense? Yes, my activities do change when I have a little one in tow...even a simple act of putting on my shirt can seem complicated!...but to have two little ones looking up to me and learning how to say "thank you" or compliments "you did a great, great good job, Mommy" produces feelings in me that are hard to describe.
I don't think parenthood is for everyone. That's fine! And it's good to know that before entering into marriage like "Jerry" from Ronda's post said. I'm grateful for my kids, but I don't think I'm better or worse than anyone who chooses not to have kids.
I totally understand people who choose not to have kids. It is a lot of work that some people don't want or can't handle. For me, I always knew I wanted kids (well, I wasn't so sure about the childbirth part of it all, but it came and went pretty easily...easily enough to know I could have another). I understand the environmental issues and impact overpopulation can have, but I guess I'm not enough of an environmentalist to forfit an opportunity to grow my family. My mom said something I thought was profound.... She said "having kids forces you to be creative in a different way than you would if you didn't have kids." As I said before, activities become variations of the same. It's not that one way is better than another....just a variation. If I believe my mom, I could expand that thought to define myself as not so creative already so I needed to have children to expand the creative side of my brain..... Who knows?
Both kids are sleeping......ahhhh....I sit down to write....then my mom calls asking to pick up Krispy Kreme pumpkin donuts for tonight....yum.... Oh yeah, I was going to write something profound....well, maybe just write something!
I remember that I originally started this blog because my husband was really getting into blogging and I felt left out! Also cuz I had a daughter under 1 year old and needed to have an outlet to connect to a bigger audience than just my baby!
Then in an effort to establish a professional link to my current life as a stay-at-home mom and my former life as a French teacher, (and try and fulfill more of our state's inane requirements for educators) I decided I was going to document my daughter's verbal patterns and progressions.... Well, let's just say that the title of this blog "Ramblings" just about covers the actual topic of this blog.... professional? not really.... unfocused mind chatter? yeah, pretty much :-)
The other day my friend Ronda (aka Rolanda and her blog is linked to my blog) wrote a post on Oct. 29th about having kids and also choosing not to have kids. It made me think back to the time when I didn't have kids as I often do, although it's a little foggy at times. Other times it is as clear as day. I remember traveling to France and through Europe on my own. Now we talk about going, but it's hard to think about how little toddlers would handle the culture shock--although they'd probably do better than some adults!--and hours of walking around cities. I think having kids requires me to think differently....Maybe instead of a city trip we'd plan to stay in a rental home that had a yard, a smaller city with the same feel of foreign culture, but less walking and fewer cars and crazy bus drivers. Activities may be limited, or maybe just variations of the same, when kids are involved.
When I am tired, it would be nice to know I could count on a full 7-8 hour night of sleep... Unfortunately, I can't count on that unless I ignore crying children (some nights). Fortunately, for me though, I am blessed to be able to rest at home during the day with my kids who are usually mellow and tired too if we all woke up a bunch of times throughout the night.
I'm not sure I quite know how to respond to Ronda's post. I think it's hard to imagine what life will be like with kids before they are actually in your life. I know I had one idea and truly my brain doesn't tend to be the best for abstract thought, but I'd say that imagining how life would be different 20 times a day probably doesn't actually capture the actual changes....am I making sense? Yes, my activities do change when I have a little one in tow...even a simple act of putting on my shirt can seem complicated!...but to have two little ones looking up to me and learning how to say "thank you" or compliments "you did a great, great good job, Mommy" produces feelings in me that are hard to describe.
I don't think parenthood is for everyone. That's fine! And it's good to know that before entering into marriage like "Jerry" from Ronda's post said. I'm grateful for my kids, but I don't think I'm better or worse than anyone who chooses not to have kids.
I totally understand people who choose not to have kids. It is a lot of work that some people don't want or can't handle. For me, I always knew I wanted kids (well, I wasn't so sure about the childbirth part of it all, but it came and went pretty easily...easily enough to know I could have another). I understand the environmental issues and impact overpopulation can have, but I guess I'm not enough of an environmentalist to forfit an opportunity to grow my family. My mom said something I thought was profound.... She said "having kids forces you to be creative in a different way than you would if you didn't have kids." As I said before, activities become variations of the same. It's not that one way is better than another....just a variation. If I believe my mom, I could expand that thought to define myself as not so creative already so I needed to have children to expand the creative side of my brain..... Who knows?
Comments:
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Sarah,
I love that you've taken the time to write down all the things that you started pondering after reading my post! I suspect that everything you articulated would resonate with most parents .. and yet each parent would have their own unique "moments" - good and bad - that stand out for them.
I think what it boils down to for most people is that while not all change that children bring is welcome (or makes life easier), they do not regret having children. The good moments and feelings outweigh the bad .. and ultimately they would make the same choice again.
The closest I can come to relating is thinking about what my life would be like - what would I be like - if I hadn't married Steve. There are things that might be better .. but I wouldn't trade my 10 years of marriage to him for anything. The good outweighs the bad. I have no regrets.
Thanks again for your thoughtful and introspective post!
Ronda
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I love that you've taken the time to write down all the things that you started pondering after reading my post! I suspect that everything you articulated would resonate with most parents .. and yet each parent would have their own unique "moments" - good and bad - that stand out for them.
I think what it boils down to for most people is that while not all change that children bring is welcome (or makes life easier), they do not regret having children. The good moments and feelings outweigh the bad .. and ultimately they would make the same choice again.
The closest I can come to relating is thinking about what my life would be like - what would I be like - if I hadn't married Steve. There are things that might be better .. but I wouldn't trade my 10 years of marriage to him for anything. The good outweighs the bad. I have no regrets.
Thanks again for your thoughtful and introspective post!
Ronda
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