A Different Kind Of Fun

They say that age is only a number.  That might be true, but it was probably also said by someone who doesn't have kids under the age of 5.  While many spend New Year's Eve partying until the wee hours of the morning.  My wife and I simply looked at each other after an exhausting day and said a quiet, "Happy New Year."

Don't get me wrong, I know we move through life in stages.  Right now we are in the lack of sleep stage.  A few years down the road we will be picking up our kids from the ,"New Year's Eve Youth Group All Nighter," at church.  But it is kind of fun to look at how the way you live your life changes after kids,  Here are some of the highlights:

• Dinnertime - A mad dash to feed your kids and try to sit down and eat some of your own food before their food starts to fly because they're finished
• Sleep - Grab some when you can.  There is no guarantee you will be able to "catch up" tonight or tomorrow morning
• Pride - Is lost on a continuous basis.  My favourite is showing up to visit someone with food on your shirt that you didn't see before you left thanks to "someone's" hands.

Those are some of the crazy times.  But none of us would trade the best times

• First smile
• First roll over
• First crawl
• First step
• First word
• Conversations.  Nothing beats a conversation with a child.  You never know what they will say and most of the time what they do say it priceless.  

Before my oldest was born, a radio friend in Winnipeg said, "You're gonna love it.  Kids are so much fun."  It's was hard to imagine in the first few weeks with no sleep, but it's true.  You are also reminded, especially going into a new year, that they grow up so fast.

So...enjoy every minute of it.