Ya'll, my sister is so close to having a baby. I won't give you the specifics, but GOOD GRIEF, I cannot believe that baby hasn't just fallen out yet. So. Close. I really thought he was coming yesterday. I just had a feeling, you know? And 8 times out of 10, when I have a feeling like that, I'm right. But alas - no baby yet.
This is the worst part of pregnancy, sitting PERCHED and READY for weeks on end, knowing your life is about to change dramatically but having no idea when that change is actually going to happen. Brian said last night, "Aren't you glad YOU'RE not waiting to go into labor?" Only I feel a little like I am ... that's probably being dramatic. But I answer every phone call (an unusual feat for me) and every day I decide who I could call to watch the kids if she has a baby that day.
I've had numerous children in my house for several hours at a time, several times now, and I've decided I really could hack it. I could handle raising a gaggle, but I would need an assistant. It's not the time with kids that's draining, it's the prep work and the time they are left to their own devices while you're filling cups and looking for the rest of the paintbrushes. The preschool where I once worked practiced "zone teaching" (no kidding); one teacher led while the other cleaned and prepped for the next thing, and then they traded off, letting the second teacher lead the activity she just prepared while the first teacher cleaned the first activity and prepped the next. IT WORKS SO WELL. It's all the fun of engaging small children without any of the
aggression and destruction of bored toddlers. If only motherhood came with assistants. And instruction manuals. And an extra wipe, because there is going to be at least one time per child when you DESPERATELY need a wipe and don't have any. Alas.
Giving birth and chasing toddlers - that's what's on my mind today.
PS I got my very favorite blog compliment ever today. Someone (Hi you!) emailed me to say that reading my blog almost makes her want to have children. I'm glad that despite my stories of pet store disasters and sleep deprivation, she saw how much I love my life. Because I really
do. If only there was someone else to keep up with the paintbrushes.
1 comment:
That sheds some light on why I get so frustrated sometimes with the whole cleaning up and cooking when you have three kids at home thing -- there is no zone parenting, unless you have two parents dedicated to the task full time. Maybe I can talk my 8 year old into switching off zones with me. . . she might get all excited about it for a whole hour before looking up and say, "Hey, wait a miiiiiiinute. . . . ."
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