Of babies and time

Wow, two posts in a row ;-) My previous post talked about not having enough time to write, and it's no surprise that kids play a large role in time-sucking. I don't mean that in a bad way. It's tiring, but well worth it. And it can even be fun at times! ;-)

This weekend, while driving back to SB from LA, with the boy and all his stuff in tow, I talked with Ben, the founder of Not One Sparrow, who recently had a new baby himself. He's still in that bleary-eyed-stupor stage where on the one hand he's enjoying fatherhood and even marveling at his little miracle, but on the other has finds himself too worn out to really appreciate it or understand when people say "Enjoy it now, it won't last". I figure, people who say such things either 1) don't have kids themselves or 2) have kids so old they've long forgotten what it's like to take care of helpless babies, unruly toddlers, and defiant kids. Selective amnesia-- they only remember the good parts.

With a five-year-old, I'm still well into the "hurry up and grow up" stage of parenthood, so I could still sympathize with Ben. I told him how I celebrated with glee the day Todd learned to buckle up by himself in his car seat. It may not be a big thing, but when you're running several errands and constantly have to climb into the back seat to buckle him up each time, it gets tiresome!

When I was younger, I'd always imagined I'd like to have two kids. Ideally a boy and a girl. I had it all figured it out-- I'd space them about 5 years apart so that the older one could help take care of the younger one. Then I grew up, and y'know, actually HAD a real kid. And promptly changed my mind. Of course, there were times as Todd was growing older, that I'd see him playing with younger kids, get broody, and wistfully think to myself, "he'd make a great big brother". There were times when I felt sorry for Todd when Allan and I were so busy with day-to-day things, he felt neglected because nobody was playing with him. Having a sibling to play with would ease that. Then I'd look at the messy house, look at our shrinking checkbook (for being as small as they are, these little critters cost an arm and a leg!), and feel the weariness as we plop down to rest after he's gone to bed (with house chores still looming ahead of us) and reality would set back in ;-)

Three of the women in our young couples small group at church have become pregnant at around the same time. Come January/February there will be babies galore. Of course, people naturally turn to the non-pregnant women in the group and start asking when THEY will have kids. And since Todd's old enough now, people also turn to us and ask us if we're having ANOTHER one. Hahaha... funny, people! :-P

I think that if I were able to be a stay-at-home mom, *maybe* I'd give more serious consideration to having another kid. But, we made the decision a year ago that Todd would be it, so here we are. An only child. Just like his mama. And the only grandchild... on both sides! Now who would want to part with that kind of attention? ;-)