Good examples

"Always a bridesmaid, never a bride"

I was a bridesmaid just once before I was married- and, hours after the wedding, my boyfriend proposed. I was a bride about a year and a half later- four years ago.

And then, when I got married, I learned there was a new way to be "left out". Maybe I should coin "Always the babysitter, never the baby mama"?

In the last 4 years since getting married, I've had OVER TWENTY-FIVE babies born around me, to friends, family, and coworkers (yes, I counted). At least seven more are on the way as I write this. Six more didn't make it out of utero, and I grieved with the parents at the tragedy of miscarriage.

In this time, I've seen:

• babies adopted by their parents and babies born to their parents
• pregnancies that were long planned and those that weren't at all
• babies come two months early, and babies come over a week late
• babies born at home, and babies born at the hospital
• newborns home after just a day, and NICU stays of over a month 
• friends get epidurals and friends birth naturally and friends get c-sections, planned and unplanned
• babies with lots of hair and babies with no hair
• babies that wear Pampers and babies that wear cloth diapers
• babies who weaned in less than six months and babies who weaned in more than two years
• baby names inspired by the Bible, place names, culture, family, and literature
• parents who carry their baby in a carseat, and parents who carry their baby strapped to their chest
• happy babies and fussy babies
• social babies and reserved babies
• toddlers potty trained at 18 months, and toddlers uninterested in pottying at three.
• one-year-olds who talk and two-year-olds who don't
• moms who work and moms who stay home
• dads who work and dads who stay home
• parents who send their kids to babysitters, and parents who babysit others' kids
• parents who homeschool and parents who public-school
• "bow ties" to "hairbows" in about a 2:1 ratio (Boys! Everywhere!)

Most of all, I've seen all these babies grow up in loving homes, on their way to being great people, surrounded by great parents. Watching my friends, coworkers, and family, I've learned a lot, and filed it away for future reference.

And,

after all these great examples,

now it's finally our turn.


Coming New Year's-ish. Can't wait.