The Gift of Guidance

Jillian and I have been blessed in the relatively short span of Megan's life to have most of her needs provided for by you. These have all been extremely appreciated, but in hosting my mother during the past week (with Steve coming up for the last weekend), I realized the best part of becoming a parent and I'm sure Jillian would agree, even more than getting to play with toys again, is the reconnection with your own parents on yet another level.

I'm not sure my mom was ready for some of my questions about her time as a parent, because it wasn't your traditional sepia-toned expectation of happily ever after, but I asked anyway. The answers were intriguing. We talked about expectations, choices, parenting theories from, ahem, the '70s versus today's world, and just the physical and emotional strain that a child brings.

But I like the duality of reading parenting books in addition to the real-world advice I get from my mom. So while there are minor differences, like how my mom swaddles Megan versus the way I do, my mom was also the first one to point out Megan's 'pooping cry' versus other ones. This is not something I can read in a book, but it has caused immense relief in my world that I can decipher at least ONE of the sounds that comes out of this child.

So, this is a public thank you to my mom. And while she doesn't think she really contributed that much to our environment beyond some outrageously-delicious cooked meals, craft projects and some much-needed break time, hopefully she realizes that her visits are about more than that.