Twelve Things You Don’t Do As a Parent of a One Month Old

Micah’s just over a month old, which means Kelly and I have been practicing this parenting thing for somewhere around 35 days. We’ve learned a lot. Last night as I sloowwwly laid Micah down, praying that the last four hours of trying to getting him to sleep would be over and he would stay asleep, I marvelled at just how many things two people can not get done when you have a baby on your hands. I laughed as I mentally scrolled through our undone to dos. So I made a list. For those who have had kids, you’ll get it. For those who haven’t yet, take note. Get stuff done now. You won’t later

Things you don’t do as a parent of a one month old:

1. Shower more than once a week
2. Clean all the dishes
3. Get out of the house in less than 20 minutes
4. Sleep for longer than two hours
5. Have an in-depth conversation
6. Watch more than half a movie
7. Have sex
8. Freak out about being peed on
9. Write that book you’ve been working on
10. Get to work early
11. Fix the laptop that’s been broken for the last month
12. Cook a full meal

Good news though – getting stuff done isn’t what life’s about. Jesus has done more than enough to satisfy any to-do list that we could ever place in front of ourselves, and God’s relational nature declares clearly that there is far more value in pouring love out for another human being while your kitchen counters disappear under dishes and your body odor builds to a crescendo than there is in keeping things spotless.

When you have kids, regardless of their age, they’re going to inconvenience you and force you to change your plans. You’ll probably get less than half of what you wanted to get done done. But what you will get in return is the beauty of shaping a soul that will bring much greater glory to the Lord than any amount of productivity ever could.

That said, I really need a shower.

photo credit: Grace Noelle Photo