Monday Meme: First child.... Second child... Third child... Any children after...

Every time I’ve seen this meme, it just makes me chuckle. Thinking back to our first child, it's rather amusing what was worrisome as a new parent.  As time goes by, and more children arrived, experience began to teach us to trust ourselves, and not a book, or friends, or even family.

For us, the first three children were our "firsts" since they were so close in age, they almost seemed like one. If one had to wear a hat, then they all did. Shoes? You betcha. Start solids at six months, well, yes! Not walking by a year, better call the doctor. And, cookies before dinner?? Hardly. And then we started watching them. The children. They looked good. Rosy cheeks and sparkling eyes.  Attitudes, yes, but we adapted. I always thought God sent us the children we needed, for a particular time of our lives. But I didn’t want to trust. A quiet, calm one after a rambunscous hooligan? Nooo, something must be “wrong”. But the cries of “Lord, Help me!” did not fall on deaf ears. He does know what we need! A little craziness to break up the perfectionism.  Each child a gift with his or her own manual to uncover.  A little dessert before dinner. Because it’s gotta be better for them than dirt.