Tuesday, November 8, 2011

12 Things I've Learned From My Son

Well, if I was knee-deep in the boy's birthday week yesterday, I guess I'm waist-deep today. This past year has been the absolute best of my life: complete with laughs, tears, challenges, and victories. But I wouldn't change a thing. I cherish it all.

It's funny, as a new mom, I've daydreamed about all the hundreds and thousands of things I'll teach Cohen before he's old enough to be on his own. It's pretty daunting, really, thinking about everything I want to teach him.

But today, I'm not going to think about all that. Today, I'm going to snuggle my boy and meditate on some of the things that he's taught me this year.


So without further ado, here are 12 things I've learned from my son (in honor of the 12 months he's blessed our lives):

1. Cohen has taught me to slow down. Sometimes, when the world is bustling by, he'll find something that catches his eye. Those are my favorite times with him: just stopping in the middle of life to appreciate the ordinary.

2. Each day ends before I'm ready. Before I know it, it's dinnertime and bathtime and bedtime, and the boy is one day older. I am learning how to cherish each moment; they pass quickly, and I'll never get them back.

3. Cohen is teaching me a lot about expectations. I set  high expectations for myself and those I allow in my life. With Cohen, though, I never really set expectations. From the first moment I saw him and held him and kissed him, I just loved him. He's never had to do anything to earn or keep my love. And you know what? Because I've just allowed him to be him and loved him for it, he has far exceeded any expectation that I could ever set for him.

4. Cohen teaches me to have a Plan B. I've never been a Plan B type person. My mentality is that Plan A had better be perfect; otherwise it's not worth executing. That doesn't work with a baby. In the past year, I've filled my life with Plan B diapers, Plan B clothes. Plan B plans, and Plan B dinner choices. Sometimes things don't go the way I want them to, but I'm learning to be flexible.

5. He's taught me that things don't have to be perfect in order to be absolutely perfect.

6. Sometimes I watch him play with other babies. My boy is very sociable (did not get that from me), and he loves to be around people. But somehow he already knows that not everybody is friendly back. He doesn't take it personally. He doesn't let it get him down. He simply turns around and finds someone else, someone who wants his company, to play with.

7. He reminds me that anytime is a good time to share a hug or a snuggle. And those times when I stop life to just love my son, those are the best parts of my day.

8. He shows me the value in being open-minded about new situations and new people.

9. He doesn't care if he has the newest toys or the cutest clothes. And if he did have the best of everything, it still wouldn't make him a better Cohen. He wouldn't love me more if I gave him more stuff. He wants my love and my attention. That's what's most important.

10. He doesn't compare himself to anyone else. He doesn't think, "Hmmm... that baby was walking by 10 months; I'm going to one-up him so everyone will know I'm better than him." No, his mind doesn't work that way. He accepts others the way they are. And he does the same for himself.

11. He's taught me to never underestimate him. Even though he's still a baby, he can (and will!) do anything he wants. The greatest lessons this year always came from me saying, "Surely he wouldn't ..."

12. I think the most important (and probably hardest to learn) lesson he's taught me this year has been that even though I may control what shoes he wears, when he goes down for a nap, or how many Goldfish he eats, the important stuff if not up to me at all. I have no control over his health or his future or even mine, for that matter. I've got to daily place it in God's hands and trust that He is big enough to take care of us.


Linking up with Call Me Blessed for We Encourage Tuesday

1 comment:

  1. I love this post, it made me tear up. Babies are so amazing and precious and we can learn a lot from them

    ReplyDelete

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