Parenthood: It's not a job, it's a doodie

Since we've begun this process, many people have asked us why in the world would we want to start over with another baby. The screaming, the crying...the diapers. It all starts over again. So what are we thinking? Well, we'd be lying if we didn't say that we haven't wondered many of these things to ourselves from time to time. Indeed, just last Saturday I was curled up on the couch watching TV uninterrupted for almost 3 hours, and it was everything I dreamed it could be. And God knows that Andrea and I hold dear any alone time we can manage to scrounge up.

Still, in the end, isn't all this a good kind of busy? As I've watched our older parent friends see their kids go off to college and beyond, it has really sunk in just how short a time we have with our children. Our older son Andersen just turned 9, and all I can wonder about is when the heck that happened, and how in the world can I slow time down. If he ends up leaving the house at 18, that means we've already reached the halfway point and I can barely stand the thought of it. The same thing goes for Paige. It's all speeding by too fast.

Of course, this is not to say that we're adopting because we want to prolong the time we have at home with our kids. Rather, I think having our own kids has made us appreciate just what a tremendous gift it is to get to be a parent, and we haven't gotten our fill of it just yet. It's a strange phenomenon in a way. Right before Andersen was born, I remember thinking to myself that it was strange that I didn't feel much connection to this child we were bringing into the world. And then bam, here he is and all of a sudden, I feel as deep a connection as I've ever felt with another human being. Same thing with Paige. Personally, I think this has very little to do with genetics. There is just a fundamental bond that gets forged between a parent and a child that changes your life forever.

Naturally, it goes without saying that taking this on means that we're about to give up a lot of things and take on yet more responsibility. But, at the end of the day, it's all worth it. We know that when we reach the end of our days, we'll look back on all this fondly and forget about the sleepless nights and poopy diapers. Instead, we'll remember the joy our children have brought to our lives. Whenever we have bad days, nothing cheers us up like our kids do. A smile, a hug, a zerbert; it's all good stuff. So if that means we have to sling a few diapers around along the way, we're game. In the meantime, I'm going to sign off and go watch television in my underwear while I still can.

Post By: James