Before we had you, life was so different.
Before we had you, we had something called “laundry day” each week. It took up a part of one day each week. All clean laundry got folded and put away without delay. Now, though, laundry is a daily occurrence, often ending with clean laundry piling up into a mountain of clothing and linens that occasionally gets sorted and folded. When we fold, it has to happen at a time when you aren’t around. Otherwise, all of our folding efforts will go to waste as you destroy those folded stacks of clean laundry.
Before we had you, we could have conversations without distractions. It’s pretty easy to have two-way communication, but when extra voices enter the mix, it can get a little chaotic. That’s why we sometimes (ok, rarely) have date nights or we separate ourselves for a bit while you play, read, or watch TV. We need to catch up with each other when we can because it’s tough to talk and connect when we’re being pulled in multiple directions.
Before we had you, we could stay up late and sleep in on the weekends. We didn’t have to worry about being woken in the middle of the night, so our bedtime wasn’t strategically planned around other people’s sleep schedules. Though we do expect to get more sleep as you grow older, we don’t anticipate sleeping entirely on our own schedules until you’re out of the house. Parents always have nighttime worries.
Before we had you, our bank accounts looked fuller. We were able to spend on fun items for ourselves, but now, the fun money ends up getting re-prioritized to allow you fun opportunities, like YMCA memberships, camps, sports leagues, music lessons, dance classes, and day trips to zoos and museums. If you’re wondering why we haven’t gone on a date in a while (do you actually wonder that?), it probably has something to do with our fun money disappearing into the abyss of childhood fun.
Speaking of dates, before we had you, we would go on impromptu dates! The mood could strike for us to go catch a movie and we could do it – just like that! We didn’t have to check with family or a babysitter to see if anyone could take care of things while we would be MIA for a few hours. We could just get up and go! If we felt like our date wasn’t over after watching that movie, we could even extend it by going out for dinner, without thinking about how it would affect anyone at home.
Before we had you, we had empty lulls in our days. In those moments, we probably didn’t sit still and appreciate the quiet or the absence of demands the way we would now. We filled them with leisurely activities, like exercising, crafting, reading, shopping, or doing something that would keep our minds and bodies quiet, yet also busy. Give us an hour of quiet now and you can almost bet that we’ll use that time to nap.
Before we had you, we dreamed of what our world would look like with you in it. We wished for what we now get to live every day. Though we had to say goodbye to some of what we enjoyed before having you, we are so thankful for the reason behind those changes. Just about everything we had come to understand about the world around us shifted the moment we welcomed you into our family. Before we had you, life was so different because we couldn’t conceptualize just how fulfilling and beautiful these changes could be. Thank you for teaching us a lesson in all of the joy that can come from change.
