This month has been a busy one. We had Liam. It is life changing, not so much as it changes who you are, or how you think, or what you desire, but it changes what you do, how you do it, when you do it, and with whom you do it. I love being a dad and I love Liam. I adore and love Michelle.
Today in Sunday school somebody made the comment that early on in their marriage they wanted recognition from the other person with regards to what they had done (we were discussing Jesus’ teachings in Matt 6:1). It hit me that if I was organized enough, I would have written down every diaper I have changed, and I probably average 3/day and I want Michelle to know when I changed the diaper, how messy it was, how fussy Liam was, while emphasizing how much I am doing. As I was thinking about comment, it hit me that I was as the hypocrites Jesus was teaching. I’ve got some changing to do (not just more diapers). Besides, Michelle probably changes 4 to 5 times the diapers I change and not once has she told me how many diapers she changed as I walk through the door after work. It is kind of funny that as I write this I am picturing a whiteboard above his changing station with how many diapers that we changed and who did it and a score of how messy it was. We’ll take a picture of those statistics every month and put it in Liam’s book of remembrance so he knows of the great sacrifices we made and when he dares complain we’ll demand a review of that book. Aaah, the joys of parenthood, the sleepless nights and the crap filled hands, the drooled on shirts, and the home bound nights (especially the dates that have to be creative enough to count as a date and not like every other night in the house together), the countless hours spent feeding, and rocking, and holding. The thankless nature of it all, must be quite refining. They don’t even remember, we have no concept of what our parents go through for the first year or two of our lives, no wonder why the sin of ingratitude is weighty. Thanks mom and dad for raising me and changing all my diapers, sorry I cried so much and that I didn’t sleep. Thanks for not killing me.
By the way, Liam is a great baby and has increased our joy infinitely, and the dirty diapers, the consistent crying, and discussed difficulties, are absolutely nothing compared to the joys of parenthood. I know that “the family is ordained of God.”
oh.. our almost daily thoughts on parenting can be found on another blog www.parentalponderings.posterous.com
