The Sacrifices We Make

What a one year old can do while you chop vegetables. Amazing.


He learned to climb barstools today.


The poor living room.

People love to warn soon-to-be Moms about the sacrifices that come with this maternal position. You are told how your sleep, your beauty, your body, your free time..will all suffer in the name of raising children. And to some degree, they are right. You start convincing yourself that caffeine is your friend, beauty is over rated and yoga pants look best when they have been worn for 3 days in a row. I was thinking about these "sacrifices" as I was putting away laundry yesterday. My clean and orderly bathroom and bedroom were sacrificed in the name of keeping the children busy, while I put away clothes. Today, it was my kitchen and living room up on the altar. I felt I had no choice but to allow these rooms to be destroyed by the worlds cutest 15 month old in order to prepare nourishment for his little body. Nigel Short says “A good sacrifice is one that is not necessarily sound but leaves your opponent dazed and confused.” Dazed, confused and/or possibly entertained? I'm abandoning the notion that my house, as a whole, can be clean and orderly at the same time. And while this does bother me, I know in the grand scheme of things, it is a temporary situation. Two decades from now, my boys will not remember if every closet was systematically arranged, if every sock was still married to it's original partner or if occasionally, they were dried after a bath with the towels we reserve for the car and dogs. Reflecting on the day once they are in bed asleep I realize, it's not that much of a sacrifice, it's not that big of a deal and it's just not that big of a mess. I'll happily do it again tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that....