Growing Up

I think I'd say, if I had to describe myself - "I've come a long way" would do it. Nothing brings perspective on that like time. And recently, with the addition of little Vale, I've been brought back sort of "face to face" with the twenty-something Mom I used to be. Honestly, I'm still the same Mom, even though I can now be described as 'forty-something'. But time and perspective have changed me a little, and really, it's a lot. But I don't always think of it or see it, until I do. And then, WOW, I've come a long way.

I was talking to one of my sisters recently. I dispensed what I thought was a sage piece of advice - the topic? Toddler beds.

See, when Kenna was 13.5 months old, we welcomed little Brooksie to the family, and I, being practical I suppose, decided that having 2 cribs was out of the question. I never even looked for a crib secondhand or anything. It wasn't that I couldn't get one, and was making the best of it...I didn't want one. I moved Kenna up to a toddler bed. She was obedient, and mentally able to understand the concept of staying in bed, technically. But she was too young. Looking back on it now, what I couldn't see while walking through it is just the simple fact that she was not ready yet, and I was testing her, and requiring obedience of her that was unnecessary.

I don't even know where the advice came from. I certainly haven't sat around thinking about toddler beds over the past 10 years. But when the topic came up, it all came rushing back.

I created so much work for myself. So much stress. And why? Because the idea of having 2 cribs was a "no" for me, though now I can't even think of why. I rushed her into growing up, and I shouldn't have. I created a discipline issue that I was obligated to follow through with, and looking back on it, I don't really think I had the bandwidth to deal with that - even though I did do it. But it cost me something, and I didn't ever think about it that way.

So, I say, don't rush your baby or toddler out of the crib. Having 2 cribs is ok. It doesn't mean your children lack self-control if they get out of bed when they're too young for that much responsibility. Can they learn it? Of course. Was it worth it? Not to me. It might be worth it to someone else, of course. Advice is free - to be heeded or discarded. But now that I'm 'grown up', I find myself more apt to follow advice and less apt to try and figure it out on my own.

I guess that's the part of life that can be described as "the wisdom that comes with age".

Random Thoughts

Ideas or quotes I come across that I find funny, silly, inspirational, true...and just plain random!

If you want to change the world, go home and love your family. Mother Teresa

Believe me, every heart has it's secret sorrows, which the world knows not, and oftentimes we call a man cold, when he is only sad. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Using cynicism to protect yourself from the bravery that having hope requires is the sneakiest form of cowardice there is. Jon Acuff

If there was one thing he disliked more than another in a world full of objectionable happenings, it was this. PG Wodehouse

Mrs Darling: There are many different kinds of bravery. There's the bravery of thinking of others before one's self. Now, your father has never brandished a sword nor fired a pistol, thank heavens. But he has made many sacrifices for his family, and put away many dreams.
Michael: Where did he put them?
Mrs Darling: He put them in a drawer. And sometimes, late at night, we take them out and admire them. But it gets harder and harder to close the drawer...He does. And that is why he is brave.
J.M. Barrie (Peter Pan)

Above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you, because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it. Roald Dahl

Don't be fooled by the idea of calling: it's not some mystical dream life we think we deserve to live out; it's stewarding + living out well what we've been given to discover that it's really more than we deserve...Discovering 'our calling' in the everyday has so much less to do with WHAT we are doing and more to do with WHY we are doing what we're doing. This is how God's teaching me to #learntolovewhatmustbedone today..." Ruth Chou Simons

He said "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."The Velveteen Rabbit

I'm so happy! I know a million others have said it before, but none with such justice. Elizabeth Bennett, Death Comes to Pemberley

There are many little old ladies serving in church nurseries who may not understand how to articulate the theories of gospel-centeredness or have the ingenuity to dazzle our minds with psychological insights, cultural observations, and Christocentric interpretations of Old Testament passages. Their hearts, however, burn with love for Jesus and overflow with gratefulness for His grace...So don't be quick to judge them. Be humbled by them. Mastering the theology of gospel-centeredness is not the point. Loving the God of the gospel is. J.D. Greear

Recent studies show that women who carry a little extra weight live longer than do the men who mention it. Unknown

Wisdom is not primarily a function of how clever we are, nor of how much information we have managed to cram into our minds. Rather it is a moral choice to be independent of God or to be subject to him in our thinking as well as our doing. Graham Goldsworthy

No Christian can avoid theology. Every Christian is a theologian. Perhaps not a theologian in the technical or professional sense, but a theologian nonetheless. The issue for Christians is not whether we are going to be theologians but whether we are going to be good theologians or bad ones. R.C. Sproul

A life outside of Christ is both hard and frightening; a life in Christ has hard edges and dark valleys, but it is purposeful even when painful. Rosaria Champagne Butterfield

You don't have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body. CS Lewis

And I think I'm kind of a nice guy. Being a nice guy, trying to prove that nice guys don't always finish last. Darius Rucker

If I had a nickel for every time I was doomed by a puppet, I'd have...two nickels! Which isn't a lot, but really, it's weird that it happened twice, right? Dr. Doofenshmirtz

The ancient man approached God (or even the gods) as the accused person approaches his judge. For the modern man, the roles are reversed. He is the judge: God is in the dock... the trial may even end in God's acquittal. But the important thing is that Man is on the bench and God in the dock. CS Lewis

You may be whatever you resolve to be. Stonewall Jackson

Jesus is greater than I have ever portrayed Him to be. Tweeted by @JohnPiper

Don't base the number of kids you want on the pain in the {butt} of infancy, because it's so finite. Base it on how many people you want at Thanksgiving. Gwenyth Paltrow