epiphanies

i had a parenting epiphany last week, and for days now i've been working on various drafts of a wonderful witty wise (and very long) post about it. it's not working. i go to bed at 8 pm (that's in 4 min.). i wake up at 5 am. at no time am i without children. not in the day, not in the night. i nurse approximately 14 out of every 24 hours. i also run a business. and have a social life (of sorts). oh, and i homeschool. the thing is, i'm not complaining. at all. i love my life with passion. i love the mess and the glory and the pain and the stumbling and the learning, and all, all, all of it. but long blog posts (especially if wonderful witty and wise) are just not the thing for me right now. so i'll keep it real short (only another two minutes to go), and hope you get the gist of it.

it went something like this: if you think your baby (toddler, child, teenager, etc.) is robbing you of something essential (sleep, food, adult company, solitude, freedom, etc.), think again. you were given 1000 golden coins, the baby (toddler, child, teenager, etc.) only needs about 50 of them. if you take good care of the 950 left, you'll gladly be giving away what is needed (and hardly feel the pinch). if, however, you have self-care habits equivalent to systematically squandering your wealth left and right, and as a result you are already dirt poor, then yes, it hurts, but don't blame the baby (toddler, etc.). instead thank him or her for the wake-up call. and start taking good care of your wealth/self. 

how to put this into practice: make a list of things you feel your children have taken away from you. Pick the top three. How can you give these back to yourself (without taking anything away from your children)? start right now. 

i'm off to bed now. because my baby is not robbing me of my sleep.