Your Perfect Child…

This blog post was originally published on the Plucky Violin Teacher blog on December 19, 2018 so links and resources may not be current.

I’m taking a maternity leave right now, soaking up cuddles with my six week old baby (plus plenty of bonus cuddles from my three and five year olds.)

Despite the sleepless nights, there really is something magical about having a new baby in the house.

I’m forced to slow down. We’re not leaving the house much. Every few hours I’m sitting down to cuddle and feed a warm, snuggly baby.

She’s perfect.

I look down at her sweet face, with her bright eyes and chubby little cheeks with absolute wonder.

She’s perfect.

Everything about her is perfect. Even her little cry is perfection.

She’s even got some perfect little pimples.

Perfection. Just exactly the way she is right now.

Here’s the thing.

I thought these very same thoughts about my boys.

I held them in my arms and gazed in awe at their perfect, little faces.

Somehow in the hustle and bustle of mealtimes, tumbling classes, violin practice, potty training, and everything else, I forgot how perfect I thought they were.

Did this happen to you too?

But, has anything really changed? Aren’t they the same person they were five years ago? When everything they did was so darling and charming?

What’s changed now?

Only my expectations.

I expect sleepless nights with a baby, I might resent a three year old waking me in the middle of the night with a story.

I expect babies to slow me down and change my schedule, I get frustrated with my five year old’s snail pace when we leave the house.

I expect my baby to cry and whine, when we’re doing something that she doesn’t want me to. (ie. anytime someone isn’t cuddling her.) I get annoyed when my five year old son fights me about practicing.

The only thing that has changed is my thoughts.

Three year old’s get up in the night sometimes.  It’s all normal.

Five year old’s don’t move at my same pace.  It’s all normal.

Kids don’t want to practice. Totally normal.

These babies are still as perfect as they were the days they were born.

And I can choose to see that part of them everyday if I want to.

Sometimes I won’t, and that’s ok. But I can choose to feel delighted and enamored with my children anytime I want.

Even during violin practice.

If you want to see pictures and videos of my cute babies, and a real-life look at the good, the bad, and the ugly of practicing with my kids, follow me on Instagram!

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