Tuesday, November 9, 2004

Life changes after children

My friend Carrie, who is at home with her newborn son, has given up knitting -- and sleeping, apparently -- for the short term while she adjusts to motherhood.

I hear that the wee one is feeding on demand and demanding to be walked. Parents develop amnesia, thank god, and forget that they had different lives ... before.

Before:
  • every piece of clothing you own smells like sour milk
  • movies about people with babies were boring
  • you used to GO OUT at 10 p.m., not COME HOME at that time

I remember telling a friend about how cool it was that the babysitter (a 15-year-old) loved coming to our house so she could listen to our old (vinyl) records.

"You let her touch your stereo?!" he sputtered.

"Oh right," I answered. "She can touch the BABY, just not the frigging STEREO."

People without kids just don't get it.


4 comments:

MsHellion said...

Amen!

Anonymous said...

Too funny!

The best babysitting gigs were the ones with interesting book/music collections and plenty of good food. An extremely laid-back approach to child-rearing was also key.

EEK

Anonymous said...

I don't have a child, but I still understand. Believe me, looking after Erin is damn near a full-time job! :-)

    -- Jason

Anonymous said...

Totally unprepared. And I was a terrible babysitter. -- Carrie