Happy Birthday to my Baby Boy! He turned the Big O-N-E today! It’s such a bittersweet day! My favorite song “In My Arms” by singer Plumb
sums it up all (this is the same song I sang to his sister).
Your Baby Blues
So Full of Wonder
Your Curly Cues
Your Contagious Smile
And As I Watch
You Start To Grow Up
All I Can Do
Is Hold You Tight
While this has been an exciting year of learning and growing
for my son, it’s only fair to say he has taught me a few things over the past 365 days
that puts everything in perspective.
1.Sleep is Overrated: I mean
I would love to get in a full 7 hours and maybe a nap thrown in there from time
to time but mothers have so much to do while the little ones are napping and
then head off to bed. I will do anything for my children even if that means staying up late decorating a cake
smash photo backdrop because I want to capture that special moment when he digs
into his birthday cake (that photo shoot was an epic fail- see photo above!)
2. Patience Is A Continued Work of Art: Patience is a learned virtue. My son has definitely allowed me an
opportunity to hone in on that skill from time to time. That patience comes in handy every single
time his diaper needs to be changed or my attempting to get him dressed either
in the morning or before bed. (I remind you- it’s like fighting a rhino)
3.We Strive To Become a Better Version of Ourselves: Knowing I am teaching him by example, I have
come to realize there are times I need to improve and be a better person not
only as a mother to him and his sister but as a wife, daughter, sister, aunt, cousin,
friend and so on.
4. Time Flies By: Yes it
certainly does! I think every parent can
agree that as much as we want to put a time capsule on our young ones it is
simply not a reality. According to an
online article by Mother Nature Network the reason time flies by is due to what
psychologists call the Habituation Hypothesis.
“So, once we have gotten used to something — a route to work, doing the
dishes or getting dressed in the morning, for example — we start to do it on
autopilot, and cease noticing many of the small things that make one day
different from another. This makes time seem to pass much more quickly, since
fewer unique moments are being recorded by your brain.” This leads me to number 5 on this list.
5. Take Advantage Of Every Moment But In A
Different Way: According to the study
mentioned above a small technique to slow down time is to embrace new
experiences. For example, that would
mean playing with my son without any distractions- in other words less multi-tasking-
no cleaning, no trying to make dinner (even if it is only a peanut butter and
jelly sandwich), or scrolling through Facebook posts (Yes, I admit I am guilty
of this). It’s focusing on him and taking in that sheer giggle I receive or the feeling I get from holding him tightly.
6. Love Is All You Need:
That at the end of the day is what I want my children to know long after I am
no longer on this Earth. They were simply loved. Recall, my recent blog where I cited “There is only one happiness
in this life, to love and be loved.”
So I have another 365 days until he turns 2. Let’s see what else I can learn during that
time!
Other articles by Karen DeMaio