So MJ is now 2. I mean, 2 months past 2 to be honest! Where does it go? I don't have anything like a baby anymore. Baby days are far behind us. And yet I swear it's only been a half a second. It's unbelievable.
I now have a full fledged toddler who talks to me and is physically more and more capable every day. She expresses herself, she laughs at her own jokes. She sings. She's an absolute delight. Who of course has multitudes of tantrums and melt downs and now that I've taken the side of the crib, won't stay in bed all night and is giving me horrible sleep since she can open doors and climb into my bed every night.
I wouldn't change it for the world. It's fantastic.
But my god it flies by so fast.
Because I'm a single parent, I have no other standard of reference for comparison. I feel though that many of the things I deal with are not particularly different for coupled parents. I find my issues are all about time, as in, I have very little of it free. And I suppose if I had a spouse, they could be watching child and I could go out, but I think my married friends find this difficult. I mean, they're also needing to find time with each other. I guess that's a key difference, that married couples have each other for adult company. I have a lot of evenings on my own, where I can't leave the house (obviously). Although I tend to just use that time to relax, or get housework done, both of which are critical. I think life just fundamentally changes when you have kids full stop. Your weekends and evenings are busy in a way they just weren't before. Socializing can be hard.
But again, I wouldn't change any of it. Watching MJ grow and become her own person is an amazing gift that I feel so privileged to be a part of and responsible for. And if time keeps flying the way it is, before I know it, she'll be off on play dates and out with friends and I'll be on my own again. It's a short-term problem really. So like many things child related, I think the best approach is to try and appreciate every moment of it while you can- before you know it, it's gone.
