In having children, I have learned how to see the world through new eyes. I have seen angels and frogs and other assorted objects in the clouds. I have learned how exactly you make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (put the peanut butter on one slice of bread, jelly on the other then squish it together til it makes a mess on the inside), as well as learning the true meaning of the phrase "I hope you have a kid just like you when you grow up".
I used to stand at the top of a flight of stairs, yell "Mom, Look!!" and right as she turns around I would jump to the bottom. Now, I have a son and a daughter that I am convinced are going to be acrobats when they grow up just because of how much they try to fly. Off the couch, onto the couch, from bed to bed, bed to chair, pretty much from any one thing to another where they should technically walk, but they don't. I have also learned that the floor randomly turns into hot lava and that is the explanation for all the jumping around. See, I would believe that, but I too once was a kid. Yes, believe it or now, I was a child. I guess is ways I still am, hence the antics I have gotten into in the military and other places. Anyway, back on track... I now know what my mom went through when I displayed my daredevil antics for her. If you have kids, you know the feeling, heart jumps into your throat threatening to come right out your mouth, stomach ties itself into a million knots for that split second they are airborne, and once it is over, you have such an adrenaline rush that you want to lock them up so they can never do that again, but then you hear the laughter. Yes, that pleasant, heart-melting laughter of the child you love so dearly that causes you to forget why you were so ready to throttle them two seconds ago. Gotta love kids.
When my son was born, I mentally prepared myself for bugs being brought in the house to show off, finding rocks and sticks and spiders and other random creepy-crawlies in pants pockets as I am doing laundry. You know, the typical little boy stuff you have to watch out for. That time for me never came. Well, never came with my son at least. He would admire the bugs and creepy-crawlies, but never really picked them up. He would grab me by the hand and drag me out to admire these bugs. Which was funny, considering how the bugs never played his game and stayed in the same spot that he left it in when he came to get me. No, it isn't my son's pockets I have to check for bugs and things while doing laundry, it is my daughter's. Yes, my baby girl who almost refuses to wear pants and is always in skirts or dresses, plays dress-up, and rocks trucks to sleep at night. I have always wondered how that worked. You prepare for what you think will happen with the kids, think about every possible outcome, issue, problem, and any other path you can conceivably come up with, and without fail the one that eluded you during all that planning and preparation is the one that happens. A parent's motto shouldn't be "Always prepared", it should follow one of the mottos the military has: "Adapt and overcome".
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