This coming weekend I'll be attending two - yes TWO - baby showers, both for moms expecting boys, first babies, etc. One of them Cora is invited to, also, which is a good thing, because Chris will be watching the live Met broadcast of Peter Grimes. I don't think Cora is too into all-male seafaring operas. Though I could be wrong about that.
I'm happy to go to the baby showers, understand, I just wish there was a bit more breathing room in between. One thing this weekend makes me think about is the shower my friends Tricia and Cara threw for me around this time two years ago (again - TWO!). It was fun, the food was amazing (Tricia and Cara - you guys can come make those plaintain empanadas and berry-topped cheesecake ANYTIME!), and I remember feeling so overwhelmed that my friends would actually all gather together and wish me so much good, so much luck, so much happiness. (Plus, my sister-in-law sent me my gnome pjs - best pjs ever! I find gnomes both horrifying and fascinating.)
For both showers, guests are asked to bring their best advice for the parents to be. So I've been thinking about that, too. And there's lots of advice I have to give about many subjects (breastfeeding, baths, food, shopping, clothes, car seats, and so on). But, here's what I think is truly the most important thing I learned and that I have to keep reminding myself of, too:
My days with Cora are frustrating, irritating, and annoying when I try to make her keep on my schedule and I don't take into account her "schedule". When I think to myself about how Cora likes to do things, how much time she really needs to, say, get ready to go, or to brush her teeth, when I can let go of my own insistence on the way I want things to go, then we have our best days and our best times. We can still get where we need to go on time, we can still get to bed at a reasonable hour, we can still run all our errands, just maybe not the way I would do it if it were just me.
Now, I just have to find a way to say that in about 50% fewer words so it will fit on the little card!
1 comment:
My dear M- I think you're confusing Billy Budd with Peter Grimes! Peter has some great parts for women, including "Ellen", his sort-of love interest. But anyway: 50 words or less? How about: "You're having a baby. Get used to doing nothing the way you want to!" I know, the showers are already over, but that's what I'm learning!! love you!
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