Good Life

I could spend a huge amount of time recounting all of the ways my life is not at all like I expected. Take having twins, for example. Or living here in Tiny Town, for what seems more and more like the duration of our parenting years. Or living SO FAR away from East Coast Anne.

There are also so many ways that raising kids turned out to be different. Before kids, I would have calmly explained to you that ALL children needed naps, until at least age 5, and if they were not napping it was because of the parenting, not the child. AHEM. Joan and Kate stopped napping at around age 2, despite all of my best efforts.

Or, I would have rolled my eyes and told you that a 4 year old was simply not capable of having a crush on a boy. That is, until my own 4 year old spent her first year of preschool pining after her beloved Drew. She told me every detail of HIS day, never anything about what she herself did. She blushes when she talks about him (Still. She hasn't seen him in 2 months!). She told me, quietly and sheepishly, that maybe someday she would marry him. She got a snapshot of herself on trike day that just happens to have Drew in the background. She stares at the picture all the time.

I never thought I'd have a minivan, or Postpartum Depression/Anxiety/whatever it is, or be blogging.

Since I suspect I'll often use this space to belly-ache about life's curve balls, I decided today to make a list of the things that are better than I ever dreamed. Here it is:

1. My husband is such a fine example of the boy gender. He is kind, gentle, eternally patient, and has excellent family values. He does not enable me. He is level headed and logical. Living with him is the most emotionally healthy living arrangement I've ever had. He rocks.

2. My kids are such wonderful surprises- perfectly selected by a wise and wonderful God for our family. I love watching Marin starting to fit in with her sisters. I love that they all have each other.

3. We live in a big old brick house. It has big rooms, high ceilings, foot deep crown moldings, and built ins. It also has miles and miles of ugly wall paper to remove, and peeling paint on the gutters, and screens that need replacing in the porch. But. I puffy pink heart my house.

4. Our kids have a swing hung from a giant oak tree in our yard. David uses a brick, tied to a rope, and throws it over a thick, high branch. It is the highest swing I have ever seen. The kids FLY in it. (And hopefully, the rope never breaks.)

5. Our house smells like toast and lavender and garlic, with a little of that old house smell.

6. The girls' first "bikes" were red Radio Flyer tricycles with blue and white streamers. They have baskets attached and a bell to ring. No princess/Barbie bikes in this house. (Have I mentioned how much I hate effing Barbie?)

7. Speaking of bells, David installed an old fashioned door bell on our front door, low enough for the kids to reach- the kind where you turn the metal knob, which creates the ringing noise. It's a near replica of the one David used to ring at his grandma's house as a child.

8. Our neighborhood is full of old houses, big trees, and sidewalks. I am not a split-level-in-a-cul-de-sac kind of girl. On Halloween, with the costumed children and fallen leaves and the jack-o-lanterns, it's just like a set on a movie.

9. It took me a long, long time to like being a SAHM. Now, I have so many friends here. I never dreamed I would like it here so much. (But Target Headquarters? If you're reading? Could you please build in Tiny Town?)

10. Our town has an adorable downtown area, where David's business is located. At Christmas time, they tastefully decorate the lamp posts with wreathes and garland. Again: movie set.

Ok, now it's your turn. What about your life is better than you expected? Leave me a comment, or write your own post and I'll link to it...