Posted by Ashley on February 3rd, 2008
We are recovering over here at the Hales’ household. Bryce has been sick for more than a week and I’m nearing the week mark. Ezra got off easy with his first cold as it was over in a record 2 days. All of those antibodies in breast milk is doing his body good!
I wonder what one can do to make oneself slow down a bit. Life seems to be going at a pretty fast clip and some of that is inevitable (weekly church meetings, I’m working at home and out of the home, I still have a PhD to complete, etc.), but days just still feel busy. I hate feeling busy. I guess having a child makes life more busy (and he’s only 5 months old!) — not much time to sit around curled up in a chair with a mug of tea.
Here’s a list to leave you with. Things I’ve learned about myself since becoming a mother:
1. I need my own space.
2. A lot of mothering is just listening to your child and being confident that you know best how to meet his/her needs.
3. Many things that I used to stress out about I now stress out about less (I wouldn’t say that I don’t take things too seriously still…).
4. I appreciate Bryce so much more.
5. I don’t care too much when Ezra’s binky hits the floor.
6. I had no idea mothering took so much work and was so all-consuming.
7. Ezra’s smile can brighten my day even when I’ve had it.
8. A newborn’s (and infant’s) laughter makes everything pale in comparison.
9. I value my time away from Ezra at work on Wednesdays because it makes me that much more excited to see him.
10. I love experiencing the world through the eyes of my child.
We’ll be in Atlanta in a week for four days of being assessed for the possibility of planting a church. We’d appreciate your prayers — especially for Ezra as my mom will be caring for him for those four days (he’ll be with us during the nights). He really needs to sleep well for her and take the bottle well. I’m a bit nervous about how he’ll do away from me for 12-hour days.
