Just Wait...

One of my cousins linked to THIS article from her facebook page and I really liked it.  It's called "Joy, or 'Just Wait'."  

The author address how everyone likes to try to scare new parents by telling them "Well...just wait until they are walking...then they'll get into everything."  Or, "Just wait until you have kids...then you'll never get any sleep."  It reminded me of how much it used to drive me crazy when Nate and I first decided to start a family.  I would hear all the time "Just wait until you have kids...then you..." followed by a whole array of threats from "you'll never be able to wear a bikini again" to "you'll never be able to go out to eat again" and all kinds of ridiculous things.  It didn't scare me, it annoyed me and made me more determined to continue to do things that I wanted to.

The pattern continued when I got pregnant with Bridger.  "Just wait until you have two!..." And again with Dalton..."Three is the worst!  Then you're outnumbered!" 

I was torn between thinking that some people were truly just trying to help me prepare myself for life-altering situations, and thinking that people don't want to feel like they are struggling alone.  Parenting is challenging for everyone.  We all feel like we fall short.  Maybe if we try to doom others to falling short also, we won't feel so bad about our own challenges.

 When Nate and I first got married, I had just been accepted to the University of Utah to get my master's degree in social work.  I wanted to keep going to school, and I wanted to start a family.  I wasn't sure if I could do both at the same time.  I talked to one of my cousins who had done the program and she said it would be extremely difficult to do with kids because the program is so time consuming.  After a lot of thought, I decided to start a family instead of going back to school.  I could always go back to school later if I wanted to.  


I have never regretted my decision.  Despite all of the "just wait..." warnings that I received, parenting is the joy of my life.  Is it challenging?  Absolutely!  Did I have to make sacrifices?  Of course!  Can I still wear a bikini...ummm...that's debatable LOL (but my cousin just had twins and she can still wear a bikini!)  But being a mom brings more joy to my life than anything else I could be doing right now.


As the article suggested, maybe we should tell new parents "just wait until your baby smiles at you for the first time...it will melt your heart."  Or, "just wait until they first time that they throw their little arms around you and tell you that they love you!"  My kids do a million funny things that make my day.  


Bridger stuck a seed from a cherimoya up his nose because "it wanted to have a party in my nose!"  Just wait until something like that happens!  LOL.  Just wait until the birth of your first child.  Your life will change...but it will be better.