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Aug 26, 2003 If you’re ever somewhere with a friend, relative or close acquaintance and have a lull in the conversation that goes on a little too long try asking your companion about their earliest memory. I wouldn’t try it with a total stranger, you might come across like a total flake but if it’s somebody that you know fairly well, it can really be a boost to the conversation, it gets people thinking. It’s also interesting to see how far back people can remember and what they remember. My wife can remember getting her diaper changed, that must have been last week at sometime, just kidding, at daycare. I can remember dropping my pacifier in my grandfather’s spit can. I can also remember lying in my crib and being so mad that I bit through a pacifier, I hope it was a different one. I’m always wondering what my 3 year old daughter’s earliest memory will be when she thinks back years from now. Will it be a good one like going to the zoo, pony rides or Christmas or will it be a bad one like me yelling at her for head-butting me in the crotch? To me that’s the scariest part of being a parent. You’re in charge of a human being, not only taking care of their physical well-being but their mental and emotional development. It’s frightening to lay awake at night and wonder if your child will be the first woman president of the United States or end up pregnant at fifteen and sharing needles with Darryl Strawberry. Right now, my wife and I are having these little battles for dominance with our daughter. Her doctors have informed us that she is very intelligent, very independent and has a very strong personality. It seems to me that as she gets older these are traits that will serve her well but how do we cultivate them while at the same time teaching her to do as she is told? Parenting is a tough business. No matter how many books you read or how many parenting videos or episodes of Dr. Phil you watch there is nothing to prepare you. When your child gets here an instruction book will not be born along with him or her. Being a parent is very taxing so remember when a co-worker staggers into work bleary eyed, wearing the same thing he wore the day before and smelling of poop and sour milk he doesn’t have a hangover, most likely he’s a new parent. Remember from what I’ve heard the hurdles don’t get any easier you just get a whole new set. Don’t get me wrong I’m not saying that being a parent is wholly bad. In fact any parent worth their salt will tell you that the pros vastly out way the cons and personally I wouldn’t trade my little girl for anything in the world. When I mention you get a whole new set of hurdles maybe I should say challenges and I should stress that their not all bad in fact most are for the good. I’ll give one example. I still remember vividly the day that my daughter first turned over. That is turned from her back onto her stomach, real simple right? Well imagine this little baby struggling to do this on a blanket or quilt and her parents, two educated people, cheering her on like she was scoring a touchdown in the Super Bowl. Then when she gets there they erupt into wild applause and turn her back over so she can do it again. Isn’t that annoying? But that’s one of the first hurdles. Then she sits up, then she pulls up, then she walks, then she talks all the time being cheered on by the crazy parents who look as though they just witnessed the birth of Christ. Parenthood is exciting let me tell you, but it will drain your maturity. One minute your in a professional meeting with other intelligent mature people the next minute you’re dancing at a Wiggles concert.
Our latest challenge is potty training and
it’s proving to be our biggest challenge yet,
but we’re told not to worry.
“You’ve never seen very many teenagers
wearing diapers have you?” One experienced
parent asked me. Of course I said no. “Well then
they’ll all get around to it in their own sweet
time.” That makes sense. When my daughter
decided to walk she stood up and took off. When
she decided to talk she started blurting out
sentences and hasn’t stopped since. So I guess
I’ll stop worrying about it, although any advice
will be greatly appreciated, and we’ll still buy
the big girl panties, encourage and cheer when
she goes to the potty, but I think I’ll just
take as it comes. If you think about it maybe we
shouldn’t be so eager to get past these
challenges. Maybe one day there won’t be any
challenges left. My daughter will be a teenager
and won’t want to give me the time of day or
worse married, and moved a thousand miles away
so we’ll see her at the most once a year. Let’s
not sweat the challenges and try enjoy time with
our kids while their still kids. I can tolerate
the smell of poop a little longer and I don’t
really mind changing diapers, well my wife
doesn’t. So parents of small children enjoy
yourself and have fun meeting those challenges
because remember, puberty is just around the
corner.
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