Empathy and understanding are different
I remember being a kid and my mom talking about a so and so who was so lazy during her pregnancy that she wouldn't tie her own shoes.
I remember feeling bad for her, and wondering if when I was an adult, I would be the friend who tied the shoes for the woman, or the adult rolling her eyes.
It turns out that I am the emphatic one, who feels bad for the other person, and does her best to accommodate.
That does NOT mean that before now, I understood. To me, it is not necessary to understand WHY in order to understand that a fellow human being needs help.
Now I am 38 and pregnant
38 and pregnant and this uterus will not come off this cervix. It hurts to walk. I feel like I have to pee a ton, and then produce bits. My feet are swollen, standing up for long bits of time are difficult. I get tired easy. I can feel the extra blood in my system.
I don't want to tie my own shoes.
But I can so I force myself to do it.
I think all my pregnancies have been like this
Except for the first one of course. I was a robust kid when I have my first and now, forever will tell everyone who will listen to have their kids YOUNG. The hell with being more mature, or more financially secure, or whatever other reasons people wait to have kids. Being a young parent has TONS and TONS of benefits that we tend to overlook.
Like being able to outrun my 12 year old. Yup, I could outrun my kid until I got pregnant with this next one. This kid in my belly? I probably will stop outrunning her as soon as she starts running. Good thing I'll have another three who will (hopefully) be happy to chase.
For my 2nd and third pregnancy, I didn't have to work, I only had to take one kid to school, and I could nap nap nap until I was ready to take care of whatever I had to do. I also had a husband who would come home and help.
Now my days are a marathon
I wake early, do laundry early, get three kids with three different schedules to school, work at an easy (sit down office job) yet annoying jo, am up from 5:30 am until 9pm, and STILL have to ask my mom for help.
Bild von AnoukvanMarsbergen auf Pixabay
This was not meant to be a Woe-Is-Me ulog
It just came out that way.
In reality, although my hips hurt is that things are coming along great. The condo I was afraid of not being to pay is being paid. The job I didn't want to get is going well enough. The pregnancy I wasn't ready for is more than 1/2 way done.
The kids are doing great is school. The husband got a raise. And if everything stays just like now, time will make everything that much better.
Its nice to not have a list of things I have to do in order to make life better. I am in a position where sitting tight and keeping up with what I am doing will make everything better. Time is finally in the position to take care of debt. Time will also take care of making these investments grow.
And.
I won't have to work when this babe is born.
I will get to raise another one from birth without needing to send her to a sitter.
I guess that's the advantage of not being a young 20. I did have more energy for my first. I also had to have a sitter.
Hope all is great for you. Thanks for reading.