Now I remember why I don't wear earrings

I was giving baby E one final kiss while dropping him of at the sitter's house, before heading to work this morning. I leaned in and he grabbed a big ole handful of my hair. I started to back up and quickly realized that he not only had hair, he had an earring. That slight tugging caused a bit of panicking on my part. "Why did I wear these? I know he likes to grab! What if it rips out???!!!" All of these thoughts flew threw my brain just before I untangled his tiny fingers from my hair and earring. No damage done. Just a slight panic attack. No biggie. I went off to work, all of me intact.

So, as I was just sitting here thinking about this, I realized how profoundly my life has changed in the last 5 years. I mean, before you're a parent, you know things will be different AK (after kids), but there are so many things you aren't really prepared for. They're often not big changes, they're just unexpected ones.

Take the earrings for example. Now, I was never a big wearer of jewelry, but I did have a couple favorite pairs of earrings. After the kid started grabbing at them (at about 5 mon, just like baby E), I quit wearing them pretty much ever. They re-emerged about a year ago, when I remembered that I had them and liked them, and realized that he was no longer going to (unintentionally of course) rip them out . Now, though, they're probably going to go back to the drawer where they'd been living, except for special occasions.

Another example is the morning routine. Pre-kids, I slept til 715-30 and still made it to work by 8, often a few minutes early. Now, AK, I'm up at 545 and am rarely here before 830. I hate being late, y'all - just like my momma - and I often find myself late for everything these days. Not egregiously late, just running a few minutes behind. But this change I do find irritating.

One more example, the poor dog. He used to be our baby. Was, in fact, for 6 years. Now the poor creature is lucky if we remember to feed him before 8pm. He used to be the reason we took walks (to wear him out), and last night we took a walk without him because it just seemed easier than trying to find his leash. He was our baby. Now I fuss at him for trying to play with our baby's toys. Poor dog.

Today's lesson - Change is an inevitable part of life. It's even more likely to occur in the midst of huge life events. You know, like becoming a parent. You have 2 choices. You can choose to freak out about it which will lead to more stress. Or you can choose to accept the changes. Maybe they're permanent (I'm pretty sure I'll never get to sleep til 730 on a work day again). Maybe they're not (the dog does get more attention now that the kid can play with him and the earrings will eventually make their way out of the drawer again). Regardless, they are what they are at the moment. Freak out, or go with the flow...your choice. Personally, which of those I'll go with completely depends on the day.