There Was A Time...

There was a time when my things stayed in great shape, and the printer stayed on. There was a time when you could walk through my house without tripping over blocks, tiaras, or dollies. There was even a time when you wouldn't find sippy cups full of mystery liquid in various places in the house. (I threw the scary one that had been in the garage for who knows long straight away.)

There was a time when if the Durango was driving weird we'd take it to a mechanic. Now, we check to see if H pushed the 4-wheel drive button when she was playing in the front seat, because most of the time that's the problem.

There was a time when I slept in on weekends, got enough sleep on weeknights, and had something that was known as disposable income. Now that income is spent on disposable diapers.

There was a time I could leave the See's Chocolates box in plain sight without it being compromised. Now it is in a secret hiding place known only to me.

Life with H is certainly interesting--there is never a dull moment.

There was a time where I would say "Don't eat that, it fell on the ground." Now I will say "It's only been on the ground for 10 seconds. You wanted that hot dog, you eat it." (Actual story from lunch today at Diamond Grill. Love that Malibu Chicken sandwich.)

There was a time when I may have been able to discuss politics and engage in lively banter with other people. Now I'm fully prepared to debate whether or not changing Bert & Ernie to claymation was a good idea. (I don't think it is.) And let's not even get into what is wrong with Handy Manny. (Why doesn't he run off with Kelly from the hardware store already, leaving the tools behind?)

There was a time when a night out meant a sit-down restaurant and perhaps a movie or mini-golf. A night out now is dinner at Taco Time and a trip to Wal-Mart.

As my mother would say, there is a time for everything. A time will come when I'm well-rested enough to pay enough attention to the world around me and know what is going on. I'll be able to converse intelligently about something other than the upcoming Fox tv schedule, or awesome cable shows like Burn Notice and Ninja Warrior. I might hit a time when I don't have the East and West Coast Disney Channel schedules memorized. I might forget that Sesame Street is on at 1:00--a feat considering we have a DVR and I don't pay too much attention to what is on when because I don't have to once the timer is set.

But until that time comes, I'm going to spend as much time with my little 3-year-old as I can. Even if it means getting up at 8:00am on vacation to take her finger painting at the Marriott Maze program. Which I did. And she loved it. And now I've got 4 beautiful works of art, one of which is going in her room, one on the fridge, and two are going to Grandma and Grandpa's houses for Christmas gifts.

As Billy Joel says, "This is the time to remember, 'cause it will not last forever."