Friday, July 2, 2010

One half of a crime fighting team...



I struggled this week with finding the bigger picture. Which is why this is posted on Friday instead of on Thursday when it should have been done. Every time I would think of a topic, I would discard it deciding that it really didn't fit the topic of "bigger picture moments". Then last night, it came to me. Or rather - it was thrust upon me. In the form of a crying Tot...at 12:30 in the morning.

For no apparent reason, my son decided that he could no longer sleep and started fussing. This is very unusual behavior for him. He peeps occasionally in the night but it is typically short and doesn't last more than a minute or two - not even long enough for me to get out of bed and investigate. But last night, he went on. And on. And on. So I knew I had to go and see what the crisis was. I still don't really know but I suspect the soon to be arriving (and already partially here) incisors. So I gave him some Tylenol and rocked him back to sleep.

Ahhhhh - silence. It always takes me a little bit to fall back to sleep, but that was okay because typically if the Tot wakes in the night, he will sleep a little later in the morning. Except for this morning. This morning he was awake again at 5:30. Only 4.5 hours after his last wake up. To be clear, it wasn't a typical wake up with some chatter and giggles in the crib. It was a full on fussing "come and get me RIGHT NOW" kind of wake up. Another words - not the kind of thing where I could snooze for a few more minutes. I moaned and was about to succumb to the little dictator's demands when my husband said "I'll get him. I can go make his breakfast and if he's still going, I will get him up and give him breakfast so you can get some more sleep." Now, I have to say that as thoughtful as that was, it didn't work out very well because I could still hear the Tot and felt too guilty to sleep much. But, still - it was really a wonderful offer.

It got me to thinking about how tough I can be on the Husband in a very Queen of Hearts "All Ways are my Ways" sort of way. I tend to take over and I get very frustrated when anyone deviates from my plans. But, I also realize that I couldn't be the mom that I am or get all of the things done that I do without the support from the Husband when he is home. Likewise, he couldn't go to work and meet all of his goals there and still be able to come home and enjoy some play time with the Tot without me doing some of the heavier lifting around here.We really are dependent on each other for our successes and failures. We each make it possible for the other to do our best parenting. It's a weirdly nice feeling to know that even though I am dragging today, he probably is too, and when he gets home, we will take turns entertaining the Tot, making dinner and putting our little guy to bed before we collapse together on the couch. It's comforting to have a partner not only in the joyous times but, even more importantly, in the tough times.


For more bigger picture moments click here!

4 comments:

  1. Where you at my house last night? Our tot was living the same situation, so I feel for you! I enjoyed your bigger picture moment and found it very relatable.

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  2. The partnership thing is so hard to get a hang of.... especially when it comes to kids!! I loved your bigger picture moment, as it's something that so many couples go through.
    Thank you so much for linking up!! :)

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  3. Oh, you sound so much like me...I like things done (parenting-wise) MY way. And that's not always best :) But the partnership, the way we compliment and uplift each other in the midst of raising a family? It's an amazing thing! I need to let it be easy more often -- thanks for reminding me :)

    So glad you linked up!

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  4. Kam, we'd like to feature this post on the Bigger Picture Blogs page. Is that okay? Please email me pbinmyhair (at)gmail (dot) com to confirm.

    Thanks!

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