Thursday, March 19, 2009

A New Normal...

Today, it was certainly evident, to me, that my wife is getting frustrated…

Laura is ready, ready to… well, NOT be pregnant anymore. Now, don't get me wrong… this pregnancy has actually been a fairly easy one, from my point-of-view, and not too many complications; aside from the occasional pre-term labor scares and the couple of weeks on bed rest. But, she sent me a text message today that said…

"I can't wait for our baby to be here so we can just get back to a normal pace."

I guess after almost 39 weeks of sharing my body with something I would be ready to have it back too!

It struck me… Normal pace? We will never be living at a normal pace again. No matter if our son comes today or two weeks from now… we can never go back… we will have a "new" (slightly sleep deprived, yet improved) normal from the moment he is born! Please, understand, I am excited about our "new" normal, but I know we both do not take a quick change as easy as people may assume.

One thing I am confident of is… Laura is keen on getting back into shape and back into her old clothes… She complains about how nothing fits anymore… how her "cankles" ache. (Please NOTE: her idea of cankles are hardly cankles!) As we walk by the bikinis at Target or she flips through the Victoria Secret catalog… she automatically says,

"oh, one day soon my friends… just you wait! I will be with you soon!"

I know that she is raring to go and have this labor begin. Although, when it starts she may change her tune; we will just have to wait and see.

I know that my wife is one of the strongest and most positive people I know… so labor, complete with epidural, should be a walk in the park. (Notice how I can say this because I am a man and have no idea what it would feel like to have something the size of a watermelon come out of my… well okay.) I, of course, will be there supporting her the entire time… One thing I will not be doing is making sure I institute the teachings of the church of Scientology. If my woman wants to scream… let it be known… she can yell, scream and shout out anything she wants!

We are truly ready for our lives to never be the same. One day maybe Kelly Clarkson will change her mind... this is such an exciting time for us... I couldn't imagine not wanting to experience being a parent.

Not to get too psychological, but after the labor, our "new" normal will begin to unfold… the new tapestry that is weaved into our lives will be set forth into motion. The old becomes new, different… and our future will have arrived!

Mauldin will be our "new" normal…

7 comments:

James (SeattleDad) said...

You are certainly right Eric. It will not be the old normal ever again. It will be better when you can get back into some sort of routine that is somewhat predictable. Then it becomes your new normal.

Petra a.k.a The Wise (*Young*) Mommy said...

Well said my friend! It is so true. And it is the greatest adventure you will ever go on! Trust me!

Anonymous said...

Very well said, my dear. With my brother and sister being parents, I know they're not the same as they were before being called Mom and Dad. It's tough when I want to hang out and they are unable to until the kid(s) are asleep, but they're great parents and I'm proud of them. :-)

Anonymous said...

You said it Eric : ) You won't ever be the same again, but you'll never want to go back to the old 'normal'.

Melly

Anonymous said...

Yup - you'll fondly remember the "good ole days" of BC but you wouldn't trade your new life for anything, literally! You won't be able to imagine your life without Mauldin in it. It's the best feeling in the whole world. :)

Billie

Anonymous said...

There's no such thing as 'normal', but that's OK because every day is a new adventure. He'll learn new things all the time and you'll be amazed.

I can still vividly remember the day my daughter was born. Wonderful day...but I almost passed out.

You guys are going to be awesome parents.

Eric said...

@James-Yep! U said it!

@Petra- I am learning that... day by day... poopy adventures..

@Terri- I wanna be those kind of people.. people you are proud of!

@Melly- I wouldn't trade it for the world..

@Billie- Yeppers

@Ed- Thanks man!