So, I met my new neighbor yesterday and as we were talking she made a comment about her house being a mess right now. Trying to be funny, I replied that my house was usually a mess these days, too. She looked at Grayson playing behind me and said, "Well, at least you have an excuse."
Is that really what she sees Grayson as, an excuse? I found myself really bothered by this last night and realized that he wasn't an excuse, but a choice. I choose on a daily basis to spend my time with Grayson rather than do a lot of other things(cleaning everyday being one of those). I remember a story that I had read while I was pregnant about a woman and her childless friend. The friend was thinking about having kids, but was worried about all of the "negative" impacts they would have on her life. The woman writing the story began thinking about all of the wonderful things her children had brought to her life, but knew that was something that her friend would have to discover for herself.
Likewise, I guess I realized that I will never be able to explain to my neighbor the difference between my choices and excuses, until she discovers the difference for herself.
2 comments:
Ah, count me as one of those negative impact people before I had a child but I now know that is not the case though I probably still talk about some of those impacts...
At the end of the day I am the most happy when I am with Matthew not worrying about all the things that used to seem SO important (like my home being clean...) And I count my lucky stars for that ;)
Thanks for that! It's nice to know I'm not the only one willing to fore-go an immaculate house for some extra time with my boys. ;)
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