The Good Stuff

I'll be the first to admit that I joked with friends and family members who missed tailgates and nights out on the town bec they had kids. I was having a cold one while they were singing "Ride a Little Horsey" in their pajamas... Must suck for them. I saw some wild days in college...and I was in college for a while. I made some stupid decisions and things I'm surely ashamed of. I can't fathom now (with a child of my own), the sleepless nights I put my parents through. Oh, the prayers they must have said in their simplicity of, "please just keep her safe tonight." I never thought too much of the consequences of my decisions, which I eventually saw plenty of, because at the moment, I was having a blast. I thought to myself, "man I'm too selfish to have a kid. It takes over your life. It consumes you. When do they have time for themselves?" I laughed off the comments about how I would see one day. Who were these people?... These mom geniuses who truly believed their life was better than my fun life? At what point do people accept having a life that is filled with kid birthday parties, shitty diapers, and nursery rhymes? Why? 

And then one day it happened. I was ready for a baby. One day, I just decided I was ready. Nate was ready too. Let's see what the fuss (literally) is all about. Let's make a little one. It wasn't as easy as some of the high school girls make it out to be. After several months of fertility meds and about 7,456 pregnancy tests, we did it (no pun intended). Oh, how we had prayed for this miracle. And then, he arrived (there was 9 months of constipation and the weirdest experiences of my life before he got there but I'll save my pregnancy bitching for another post). In one splendid moment, I fell in love with a 7lb 11oz little version of Nate and I. Some moms don't have the amazing connection with their baby right away...I did. It was the most perfect moment. I looked into his little blue eyes and boom, I was absolutely in love with someone I had just met. He stole my heart. I get it. I really, really get it. This, my friends, is what it is all about. This is life. This is happiness. Me, Nate, and this little love bug we are lucky enough to call our own. I'll miss a million nights out, I won't make it to some parties. I may not go to as many concerts (although we will still go to some :), but I've got the best things right here at home...an amazing husband and the sweetest son. And even on the worst days when the screams are loud and frequent and the sleep is absent, it's still the best. All those experiences and stupid choices brought me here, to this very moment, singing "Ride a Little Horsey" in my pajamas...and I wouldn't trade it for the world. So, to all those who I doubted, go ahead and say with pride, "I told you so" because you were right...this is the good stuff. 

A beer would be nice today, though. It really, really would.