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Predictable Unpredictability Of Children by Carol Wells

When receiving the news, that you are expecting a baby, one starts having romanticized thoughts about the child. Then there are changes - especially the new lifestyle while slipping into the role of being a parent! Carol, in good humor, shares about the unpredictability entering one's life courtesy of parenthood.

When children become part of your life, one thing that you can count on is . . . um . . . well . . ..

If you like predictability in your life, with a child you will soon learn to adjust to the fact predictability has become a thing of the past. You will never know what the child may be up to from one minute to the next.

One minute, the baby is lying there ever so innocently. A little blink of their eyes, a slight yawn passing from the little rosebud shaped lips as you coo at the wondrous sight of this little creation. The next moment an invisible gas bubble prompts the tiniest member of the household to display an entirely different personality. You are standing there feeling confused. Did you give birth to Rosemary's baby or the little angel that you know was there just a moment earlier?

This is only the beginning.

They smile engagingly at you while the diaper overflows. They wait to hear your delight about them sharing even their moist moments with you. After all, you have expressed delight or praise about other things they have done.

Yes, even at a young age the child willingly wants to share some of their experiences with the parent. They are blissfully unaware of the concept about inopportune moments. Unfortunately, you are not blessed with the same unawareness when the child does this while in front of your co-workers, boss, or even Aunt Zella who only visits once every 5 years.

You feel mesmerized while watching the child learn new things every day about the environment around them. Then it seems just a few minutes later you are heaving a sigh while trying to place items higher, safely out of reach to curtail these same explorations.

You could not wait to witness them taking their first step. Then you wondered why you helped hold their hands and pull them to their feet. Especially when you watch them run through the rooms and pull things off the dresser and end table's tops. We will not even discuss 'autographed' books and other items that their little hands get a hold of in the briefest of moments.

In the world of emotions there is nothing quite like parenthood as you stand in the doorway admiring the sleeping angelic face of your child. Instantly forgetting about how often, earlier in the day, you had to chase after the same child or correct them repeatedly while in pursuit.

You melt inside as your child bestows you with a hug for no apparent reason other than "Just 'cause" or tells you for the first time "I love you" in a massacred variation of phonetics. You treasure the moments of doing simple things like playing peek-a-boo or singing the Alphabet Song.

You find yourself telling and retelling about these cherished moments to anyone who will stand still long enough to listen. You look through the pictures of the children and their antics that have started to accumulate . . . wondering how the time flew by.

Face it, no matter how old they become - you will never get 'your house' back. They stole that along with your heart back when you first laid eyes on the child. Each nook and cranny of the house and your heart holds a cherished memory that came to be only through your child.

Just settle back and buckle yourself in for the 'ride' as you watch your child one minute be angelic before turning all happy and giggly. Unexpectedly that same child will start shedding tears that will tug at your heart and those of people around you. Be patient and wait as, amazingly, in a moment the same child will be looking at you while smiling that sweet adorable smile you know oh-so-well, melting your heart every time you see it!

Humorous Book Recommendations:             [ view all ]
The Day I Turned Uncool : Confessions of a Reluctant Grown-up
[Dan Zevin; 44 pages]
Dan doesn't want to admit it but he is getting older, becoming a grown-up, while entering his thirties and exploring once taboo thoughts such as taking starter homes, pride in the lawn, playing golf, and others. Can you relate?

Among things so simple a child can operate are parents
-- Anonymous.

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I didn't know how babies were made until I was pregnant with my fourth child.
-- Loretta Lynn

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Babies are always more trouble than you thought -- and more wonderful.
-- Charles Osgood CBS Morning News

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A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bankroll smaller, home happier, clothes shabbier, the past forgotten, and the future worth living for.
-- Anonymous

I was born and raised with crocodiles; they are a piece of cake. But kids are so ... unpredictable.
--Steve Irwin Crocodile Hunter