If I had a lot of fun in my twenties, and my thirties were a blur between hockey, before kids, marriage, kids, house in short order, I think I am buried in the very practical years of my life in my early forties. I planned a baby shower this week for a coworker, and as I wandered around a box store picking up items for our group gift, I could not get away from practical soul.
I went for things like a curved laundry basket, crack cream (ok zinc oxide cream for diaper rash), lanolin, books, a sleep sack.. I realized that I am thinking to cover the basic needs. The practical. I didn't even blink an eye at the flash in the pan type items you can get for a baby girl. I wasn't even tempted. I am definitely a planner at this point, and I keep lists, and I recycle, and I have a budget, even if I can't always stick to it.
Ken gets to be the fun parent. He makes the kids laugh, and he scares them all the time, he plays video games with them. I feel like I am the one that gets to do the stuff in the background, and when that is done, if I have energy, then it is time to have some fun. I still laugh, and my sense of humor is definitely twisted and healthy... but I am not always the merry making person. I am worrying about the laundry, or the bills, avoiding the dishes, or wondering if it is time to roll over the kids clothes to the next size. I have a hard time sitting still, and I am half on the hunt for my next project... which has been filled with the making of baby blankets and dishclothes so far this year. I don't think that I am not a fun parent, but I think I have to get all the practical stuff out of the way first - the cleaning and cooking, and then the chasing for brushing teeth and practise reading.
Which comes back to my practical heart.
I think another side project for this year will be balancing practical with moments of whimsy.
Like wearing my crazy neon coloured zebra print socks when I go for a jog.
No comments:
Post a Comment