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Thursday, June 30, 2011

Perspective

It's all about perspective, right? Ok, maybe it's not ALL about perspective but I've been noticing a lot lately how much my perspective has changed.

For example: Elliot and Hadley were with my mom at my grandparents last weekend. Petey and I were thrilled to be able to go out to eat because we only had two children. Before Adelyn & Kailyn the thought of going out to eat with two kids would seem totally daunting and not enjoyable. My how things change quickly ;)

When Elliot was born we were so incredibly thrilled to have made it to 33 weeks. Most people balk when they hear he was born 7 weeks early & act like it's a HUGE deal. I'm not denying that it's a big deal - it was for sure. It used to bother me that people would go all ga-ga over him coming early. It finally dawned on me that I was looking at it from a different perspective. I knew that he very well could have come at 25 weeks so making it to 33 weeks was a HUGE thing. Most other people didn't realize or couldn't fathom what the 8 weeks in the hospital was like for us and didn't realize how exciting 33 weeks was. For us 33 weeks was phenomenal. For others that was awful. In this case it was all about perspective.

Piggy-backing with another Elliot tidbit. He was such a little thing his first couple months (really he still is a little thing). I used to get so annoyed with all the 'he's soooooo little' comments we'd get every time we went anywhere. Yes, he was little but it bothered me that people seemed so focused on that because I knew how far he had come. I would look at him and think 'No, he's a BIG boy. He's come soooo far!'

The girls are just over 4 weeks old right now. It still never ceases to amaze me how much easier it is for me to get around and get out and about. I'm talking about me personally and not about trying to get out with all four kids. That's just a circus!! Anyway, I didn't realize how swollen and just how miserable I was when I was pregnant until I wasn't. I remember not being able to bend my ankles or my knees which made going up and down stairs really hard. Lifting my leg to get into bed was a joke. I slept reclined on pillows for months since I couldn't get comfortable laying down & if I did manage to get comfortable there was no way I was going to be able to roll! And, getting up off the floor? All but impossible. Now, I can go up & down the stairs several times in just a few minutes. A month ago that never would have been possible. I can hop in & out of bed, the car, the couch. It's fantastic.

Those are just a few examples of how my perspective has changed. Nothing too profound but it's been on my mind lately.