I have, for the last two weeks or so, had my niece staying in town and been taking a hand in caring for her.
I love her terribly dearly.
(yes, there's a but...)
BUT!
There is something to be said for the preparation, mental, spiritual and otherwise, that goes into having a pregnancy, or, one step further, planning a pregnancy, then having the pregnancy, and then being a parent. Although I suspect that no amount of preparation will ever fully prepare you for parenthood, just on these few short days that she has spent living with me I have realized rather thoroughly how NOT ready I am to be a parent.
I repeat. I love this 4 year old with a great passion.
But I am thankful that my brother is such a devoted father and comes and takes her home at the end of our nights together.
Funny thing is, when she is gone, I will miss her achingly. So strange.
Anecdote:
Last week she very brazenly declared how much she detested apples, apple juice and anything else remotely apple-y. She spent about 10 minutes detailing it. She also told me about several other things she detested. But when we got to the store to go grocery shopping and I asked her what juice she wanted, she asked for apple juice.
3 comments:
agreed. four year olds are a handful. and definitely all about figuring out YOUR boundaries and how far they can push them.
my friend laura had a similar thought on her blog... about how pregnancy can help you get ready for parenting my forcing you to re-prioritize, especially when someone has a difficult pregnancy: www.lauraharley.com/blog.
ah but i mean not just about four year olds-i mean new borns and teenagers too. not ready for any of it. this one is not about pushing my boundaries so much as the active version of the kid who asks why to everything. i will have to check out laura's blog. but maybe when i am pregnant. guess what. i met someone who wants me to have his babies this weekend. i think it was a line. but funny, right?
very funny... you're manifesting, i would say.
yeah, the 4 year old i know just wants to be sure i mean what i say.
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