After welcoming my curly haired niece into our home three days ago, we've since spent 2 days coddling my baby boy (also 20 months old) who was running a high fever (and let me tell you...he's definitely a MAN when it comes to being a little under the weather!) and then I spent last night sleeping with my almost four year old daughter so I could help her run to the bathroom every couple hours and hit the toilet with her vomit. And, I'll tell you, I am completely against kids sleeping with parents or vice-a-verse, but I decided that it would be easier to sleep with her in a feeble attempt to try to control where the vomit went rather than spend all day today cleaning it up from bedding, pjs, carpet and random other objects she hit on her way to the bathroom. The good news this morning was that my devil in disguise daughter (and I say that lovingly - more on her later!) slept in this morning until 7:30 (she has a hard time staying in bed past 6 am) and the puking stopped with the break of dawn. Thank God!
So, adjusting to our new visitor will take a little time. I mean, I knew that, but still....
She's incredibly sweet. And completely funny! And, if she knows she made you laugh, she'll of course do it again and again to hear you laugh some more. Then, she'll go on these rants of babbling (and she's SO serious!) of which you cannot make out a single word. Because they aren't words. Seriously. It's baby babble. My daughter asked me, "Mom, is she talking in Spanish OR WHAT?" That's our new joke. Yes, our curly haired sweet niece speaks a language of her own. And she's so serious!
Thank you God for letting our whole family see the humor in our situation as we all try to figure out how things are supposed to work in our house now. And for me, that's a big deal. I explained to my husband that I've got to leave my control-freak tendencies behind because I know better than to think that I can control 3 kids and not lose my sanity in the process. So, instead we laugh. A lot. And as the beautiful curly haired niece babbles on and on while my baby boy is desperately clinging to my leg, whining for me to pick him up (again!) I am gently reminded of who is in control. And I feel peace.
A beautiful thing is happening between my husband and I in our attempt to gain some kind of organization and smoothness in our current chaotic state. I can't really put it into words yet, but I can say the arrival of my curly haired niece has sparked a renewed sense of partnership and respect between the two of us. What an incredible blessing that is!
The other amazing thing I've learned so far is that the human heart has an amazing capacity to love. I mean really love. That no-strings-attached, unconditional kind of love that's hard to find, and sometimes even harder to give. I was worried when I was pregnant with my son that I wouldn't have enough love for both my daughter and the new baby boy we'd be welcoming into our family. I mean I loved my daughter SO much - how could I ever love another baby at the same time with the same intensity? But it happens. And it's definitely a God thing. So of course, I wondered how I would feel when my curly haired niece arrived. Because again, I am 100% totally and completely in love with that little boy of mine! Would I have enough love to give to my beautiful niece who would be so far from her own mommy and daddy's love?? And what kind of love would it be? Would it be enough for her?? And if I gave some of my love to her, would my little guy still feel enough love of his own?? These are all legitimate questions that I really want answers to! I am worried!
One of my questions was answered the first night she stayed here. After our long drive and lots of babbling in the car, we came home and got ready for bed. I wasn't sure how she'd feel about me - would she like me or would she cry for her mommy? Would I feel the same kind of love for her the moment she arrived or would I have to grow to know her better to really love her? Then it happened. We sat in the rocker in her room that first night and she snuggled her head into my chest and gripped the back of my shirt like she was never going to let me go. We rocked as I wrapped my arms around her tightly and rocked some more. I could feel my heart growing and expanding and oozing love out onto my curly haired niece. That quick. Seriously! She must have felt it too. Without a peep, she layed her head down on a pillow in a strange new bed, in a strange new room after laying her head on a strange new shoulder and fell peacefully to sleep. The bond that's been created is mysterious and amazing. It might take us a little while to work the kinks out in our daily routine, but it's so worth it. Who knew my curly haired niece could teach us all so much.
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