Today I went to a baby shower. It's always fun to see the excitement and anticipation on the faces of the prospective parents. The afternoon followed the usual protocol. Lots of food, a few goofy games and opening up the adorably decorated loot. Surrounded by friends and family the young couple radiated the same joy I remember feeling twenty-five years ago. I envied them for that if not the challenges they have in front of them.
At each place setting, next to the cleverly designed party favors, were note cards that asked each guest for words of advice for the new parents. It was clearly too late to encourage them to reconsider. And, despite some recent bumpy times with both my kids, I wouldn't trade my years of mothering them for anything. But what words of wisdom could I put down on that piece of paper? What could I possibly say to enlighten them about what they were getting themselves into without scaring them half to death? What exactly had I learned from more than two decades of parenting?
Naturally, I took the coward's way out writing some innocuous hints like 'make time for each other', 'take lots of photos and videos' and 'write everything in a baby book because it'll all be forgotten if you don't'. What I should have said was, 'You won't believe how much your life is going to change. You're going to love this new, little person more than you've ever believed you could love anything in this world so don't get too crazy if the laundry's not done or the house is a wreck. The time you have with your precious baby will be over in a flash. All too soon he'll be holed up in his room, sitting at his computer with headphones on, completely tuning you out. So enjoy being the center of someone's universe. Appreciate every minute of it. It's a great ride while it lasts.'
Yeah. That's what I should have said.
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