To My Parents

Thank you for making this easier.

Of course I'm always grateful for the way you raised me--being there for me, supporting me, making me feel loved. Giving me adventurous family vacations. Making Christmas magical. Instilling in me a love of books and libraries. Sharing your hobbies, interests, and fandoms with me. Helping me always feel special. Safe. And so much more, because my childhood was awesome and you are awesome parents.

But this post isn't about that.

Thank you for making NOW easier. And I don't just mean babysitting my son so that I can go to work. As amazing and wonderful as it is to have people in our lives who want to watch Baby, who want to give him one-on-one attention, who love spending time with him, who love him, and don't expect anything in return, it's even more amazing to have people in our lives who want to help us too.

Because babies are great. Fun. Adorable. Fresh and new. Babies get all the attention, as they should. They are so little and helpless and need so much during this time.

But Mom and Dad need so much during this time too.

New parents need almost as much help as children--both are trying to navigate a brand new world. Toddlers test their limits because they have discovered their own free will. They make decisions every day about what they are going to like and dislike and do or not do, discovering as they go. This is the very description of a first-time parent. I get to make the decisions, along with Hubby, on how I'm going to raise my child. From what brand of diaper cream I'll buy to when he'll start eating solids and which foods first to his first Halloween costume and first birthday theme. And that's just for now. As he gets older the decisions will become more frequent. Some big, some small. Some I will have to make instantly on the fly, others I will have more time to research and think over. Some I might clash with Hubby on. Some I might clash with you on, or Hubby's parents, or other family and friends.

It can be overwhelming. And I'm an anxious person.

I am experiencing a strange world with no past experience of my own that I can look to for guidance or familiarity.

But I'm not thanking you for just your advice and tips on how to raise a child, though they're always appreciated (I swear some I've taken, others I've taken with a grain of salt, lol). What I'm thanking you for, is being exactly what I needed when the world is new and overwhelming and I need the tools to make my own decisions rather than just the answers. I need one part of my life to be calm when everything else is running a million miles per second. I need to feel like I'm doing things right and the support that helps me feel I can continue to do things right.

You do that for me.

You order books on parenting for me so I can do my own research and view different perspectives. And when am I going to have time to make it to a bookstore?

You understand when Hubby and I have to leave dinner early to start the bedtime ritual for our fussy son.

You listen and space out Baby's bottles when I have just barely enough milk for one day and need him to not eat anymore until I get home.

You get my son to laugh, and capture it on video, and make sure it gets sent to me.

You adjust your schedule when schedules suddenly change.

You come when I need you--to help put Baby to bed on a night Hubby works late. To bring Baby to work for a special event. You drive and you hold and sometimes you think you're not helping, but sometimes just being there helps.

And then there's the food....

You read my blog and bring me the breakfast treats I mentioned I was craving.

You keep groceries for me on hand, even though I have a grocery delivery service.

You buy me a turkey burger for lunch and don't know how happy I am to see that you packed Sun Chips with it because I love Sun Chips.

You make sure I'm able to eat, and let me choose the food I want, and give me a place to eat it when I come over.

Yes, sometimes just eating a good meal is a luxury now, and it means a lot to be able to sit down and not rush my lunch or dinner.

My inlaws bring me food too, of course. They want to make sure I'm well fed, and they are so giving with their food and their time. I love them and Hubby and I both appreciate all the support.

But this is a post for you. Because you're my parents, and it means so much that even though I now have my own child, you are still parents to me.

You still help me always feel special. Safe. You give me a place where I can relax, and give this anxious person one less thing to worry about.

And that would be enough. But you also give my baby a place to feel special and safe, continuing the tradition and filling my heart even more whole with happiness when I see that my son is happy. Hearing that he had a good day with you.

So thank you, to my parents, for being parents, and grandparents and being there for us both.