Joy

It’s interesting. Our society seems to encourage people to wait as long as possible to get married, then again before having kids and being “burdened with all the extra responsibilities.” There is this thought that marriage or children mean that you have to give up the things that you enjoy in order to “be responsible.” Being married and having a baby do mean extra responsibility, and for the first few months with Bug-a-Boo, it was extremely hard to do the things that I was interested in. But here’s the interesting thing that I’ve found. Since I’ve been married, I have had more fun and adventures than I ever did when I was single. When I became a parent, even before Bug-a-Boo was a year old, we were traveling the world together. He may have slowed me down at first, but now he just brings added joy to my life. I enjoy life MORE because I am married and because I am a parent. Hubby and I waited 7 years after we were married to have a child. It’s not that we regret that, but now we wonder how we bought into the lie that the fun would stop when we became parents. Here are two of many ways our son brought hubby and I extra joy this week:

Monday we went to a drive-through fantasy of lights display. It was beautiful and fun. This is Bug-a-Boo’s 2nd Christmas and the 2nd year we’ve done this, so I guess it’s becoming a tradition. Last year he just sat in his carseat oblivious. This time he still sat in his car seat, but pointed and “ooo”-ed at the lights. Too precious. He oooing made the whole display even more fun! Then we stopped at the end and took him to see Santa. It was so funny. He’s had people in two other countries and one American territory talk to him in three different languages besides English without a fuss. He just smiled back and all we could understand was “Gerber”. (Especially when he was younger, people frequently commented on his resemblance to the Gerber baby.) However, when we went to see Santa, he wanted nothing to do with him. I held him near Santa for a photo and you should see the death grip he had on my shirt! That’s just as well. Santa isn’t a big part of our celebrations, so to him he was a stranger in a funny outfit and fake beard! The fact that he clung to me for security brought an added sense of responsibility, yes, but also a great joy knowing that this little person trusts me.

Today we went with a friend and her little girl (15 months old) to the local children’s museum. I thought it would all be over the kids heads, but agreed to go to spend time with my friend. I was blown away at how much Bug-a-Boo and his girlfriend understood and enjoyed. This past month or so Bug-a-Boo hasn’t been quite his usual cheery self. Last night hubby discovered his 5th tooth in the past month-ish (including 4 molars) breaking through his gums! Anyway, at the museum, he was the happyest that I have seen him in a long time. He loved playing in the ball pit, climbing through the tree-house, touching all the different things to touch including a mock-brain, putting play food in a kid-size grocery cart at the “store”, dancing with Elmo and other Seaseme Street characters, and scooping water. When the kids needed some down-time in the morning, we all went through the art museum attached to the children’s museum. He and his little friend relaxed in their strollers, but also pointed and gibbered about the different things they saw. How fun is that! I tell you, I had a bigger smile on my face when I came home from seeing his enjoyment than I ever would have if I had done something I enjoy. Bringing him joy brings me joy.

Hmmm. I think there’s a devotional in that last sentence.

Anyway, today was a very fun day. I find that while I am enjoying Christmas and other holidays in a different way than when I was a kid, I think I am enjoying it just as much if not more as I share it with my son.