Sunday, September 14, 2008
So THAT'S what it's like being a parent...
So while I had the kittens here, I really had to laugh at myself.
See, I wanted to give the kittens something to play with. I was kinda scrounging around here for toys, hoping I could find something instead of having to go to the store and buy something. Kittens are playful, I figured; most anything can be a toy.
Only everything I would look at, I would immediately think of the ways that the kittens could hurt themselves with it. Somehow, I made a toilet paper roll dangerous in my mind, even though right now I can't fathom how they could possibly hurt themselves with one.
While at CVS buying the really sick one PediaLyte, I checked out the toys for babies. A play key ring was deemed unacceptable, lest they get their heads stuck in it. They got little mermaids to play with instead, which the dogs promptly disemboweled.
And then, all of a sudden, I thought to myself: OMG, this is what it's like to be a parent. Overthink and over-worry about everything!
On the subject of parenthood, I was walking the dogs the other night and I started thinking back on my dad's dog, Corky. She would go on walks with him in the country and always run way ahead of him. But every time a car drove by, she would run back to him, presumably to make sure he was okay. I remember my dad telling me about this quite clearly, and how it made him laugh so much. And then I was smiling, a good 20 years later. And then I started to think about how really insanely important it is to be a parent, to be a good parent. The little things you do and say, as you go about your life, are the things that are the foundation of your kids' lives -- things they'll think about for the rest of their lives. That's a big deal.
Also on the subject, my niece Amanda, when I have kids someday, is going to come help me during the summer. She already has it planned out: she said I should get pregnant next September so that she can come the following summer to help me with the baby. I told her she had better make sure she writes it all out for me so I remember. ;) ¶ 2:23 PM
See, I wanted to give the kittens something to play with. I was kinda scrounging around here for toys, hoping I could find something instead of having to go to the store and buy something. Kittens are playful, I figured; most anything can be a toy.
Only everything I would look at, I would immediately think of the ways that the kittens could hurt themselves with it. Somehow, I made a toilet paper roll dangerous in my mind, even though right now I can't fathom how they could possibly hurt themselves with one.
While at CVS buying the really sick one PediaLyte, I checked out the toys for babies. A play key ring was deemed unacceptable, lest they get their heads stuck in it. They got little mermaids to play with instead, which the dogs promptly disemboweled.
And then, all of a sudden, I thought to myself: OMG, this is what it's like to be a parent. Overthink and over-worry about everything!
On the subject of parenthood, I was walking the dogs the other night and I started thinking back on my dad's dog, Corky. She would go on walks with him in the country and always run way ahead of him. But every time a car drove by, she would run back to him, presumably to make sure he was okay. I remember my dad telling me about this quite clearly, and how it made him laugh so much. And then I was smiling, a good 20 years later. And then I started to think about how really insanely important it is to be a parent, to be a good parent. The little things you do and say, as you go about your life, are the things that are the foundation of your kids' lives -- things they'll think about for the rest of their lives. That's a big deal.
Also on the subject, my niece Amanda, when I have kids someday, is going to come help me during the summer. She already has it planned out: she said I should get pregnant next September so that she can come the following summer to help me with the baby. I told her she had better make sure she writes it all out for me so I remember. ;) ¶ 2:23 PM
