Easy days

I should take a moment to appreciate how easy my life is right now! I know the goal of parenthood is not minimizing one's personal inconvenience, but I guess there's nothing wrong with celebrating the good times.

Isaac is four years old, and he isn't much trouble: he usually follows instructions, he can take care of many of his own needs, and he can entertain himself for 20 minutes at a time. He is agreeable and flexible, and he's pretty good at identifying and solving his own problems. (The other day when Craig and I were both busy cooking dinner, Isaac spent a few minutes lying on the floor feeling upset that no one was playing with him. He even whined, "Did you forget about me?" Then he got up and invented a new game using the magnetic letters on the side of the refrigerator. Problem solved.)

Laurel is eight months old, and, as I've written before, she is isn't any trouble: she doesn't follow instructions or take care of her own needs, of course, but she can entertain herself! (When I'm taking a shower she sits patiently on the bathroom floor waiting for me, so there's no reason for me to rush -- unlike when Isaac was a baby.) Like her brother, Laurel is agreeable and flexible, but she is even more good-tempered and much less demanding. Also, she is still completely immobile, which makes things even easier. And did I mention that she sleeps through the night about two-thirds of the time?

The kids get along with each other, too. Isaac shows no hostility toward Laurel, although he doesn't exactly dote on her, and he isn't overly resentful of the extra care I give to her. And Laurel thinks Isaac is the absolutely greatest thing in the entire world.

Sometimes when I'm feeling guilty, which is often, I wonder if I am I taking advantage of their good natures and their current level of agreeableness. Yes, "taking advantage" has two meanings, and my worry encompasses both: I hope that I am not exploiting their good natures for my own convenience, and I hope that I am not missing out on opportunities that would be open to us because of their good natures.

The fact that I find things easy right now means that this fleeting moment should be relished: Laurel is portable and easily entertained; Isaac is obedient and happy to be with me. Am I sleepwalking through what might be the best days of my life? Am I being mindful of the beautiful present? Am I taking the easy way out? Am I spending too much time on Facebook? Together the kids and I could do anything, we could go anywhere! (Well, as long as we did it quickly, since Isaac's attention span is short, and Laurel needs to nap twice during the day.)

Actually, this general malaise ties in with my main worry about Isaac right now, which is that I'm taking him for granted and expecting too much from him. He seems so mature and capable, and it's all too easy to put him off, but perhaps he would appreciate a little less independence and a little more focused attention from his mother. For that matter, I bet Laurel would also appreciate a little more attention from me, even though she seems perfectly happy to sit and watch.

Great. I've gone straight from celebrating my "easy" life with my wonderful independent children to judging myself an inattentive mother.

- - - - -

So today I took advantage of my agreeable children by bringing them to the Container Store. Not very glamorous, but Laurel is bound to start crawling one of these days, and I wanted to get some latching containers to hold Isaac's little toys. They both had a good time, and Isaac could have stayed for hours.