Toddler-hood

With each phase of toddler-hood, there are things to love and things...well, frankly, not to love. I mean, they call them the "terrible two's" for a reason, right? It's funny, before I actually had a child I was very quick to pass judgement on other people's parenting skills, thinking to myself, "if I ever have kids, mine will NOT behave like that" or "what's wrong with that lady, why can't she control her child?"

Now that I am a parent, a parent of a 2 year old, I am far less judgmental, and much more sympathetic. Don't get me wrong, I am still amazed at what some parents allow their children to do or get away with, but I've come to recognize that there are just some things children are going to do, no matter how perfect the parent is. The best example I can think of is the classic "tantrum in public". Oh, those are fun. Especially since I know there are people just like the old me looking right at me thinking, "why can't she control her child? Geez!" There's a part of me that wants to just look at them (mid-tantrum, mind you) and say, "if you ever have kids, you'll get it."

Parenting is a very humbling experience. It's worth mentioning, too, that before I had Hudson I was also one of those women who used to say, "I'll never be one of those women who has kids and then just lets herself go." Another one of those, "you just don't understand until you have kids" things. I now know that sometimes, as a parent, well, let's be honest here...ALWAYS as a parent, your needs come second to your child's. If there is a spare moment in the day, you have to ask yourself, "can I go another day without a shower?", because really, laying down for 20 minutes in pure peace and quiet just sounds like the better option for me right now.

With each phase, though, there are also countless moments of something wonderful. In fact, I was just saying yesterday, being a parent is such an incredible experience. Every day your child teaches you something - about the world, about themselves, or about you. The way you see the world just changes. What's important to you changes instantly. And, at the same time that parenting can be the most challenging and exhausting thing you've ever done, even frustrating at times, it is also the source of an immeasurable amount of joy, a love that your heart can not comprehend, and the source of a new purpose in life.

I am so grateful that Scott and I are fortunate enough to be parents, that we decided to have children, that we're enjoying the experience together, and that being parents is teaching us so much. I just can't imagine a life without children. It's the greatest joy I've ever known. Even in the midst of the "terrible two's" and the many ups and downs of it all.