The good stuff

I was talking to a new, dear Twitter friend yesterday and had myself a mini-revelation. (Why does the advice come easier when it's to other people?)

I told her to try as much as she could to focus on the stuff she was enjoying so the bad stuff didn't get bigger than it deserved. And then I realized that all I've been thinking and talking about is the bad stuff. While it's okay to feel sad and frustrated and overwhelmed, and I don't want to pretend I don't feel that way, it's also important to remember and recognize that sometimes it feels great. I'm not just waiting for this stage to be over. I'm enjoying so many things. For example:

Instead of crying when she starts to get tired, she gets grabby. And sucks on everything. I can almost hear her say "mommy, I'm not tired. I just want to eat your face, mommy. Mommy, can I eat your face, mommy?"

She is a genius at blowing raspberries. Particularly on her daddy's face. Presumably because she knows how much he enjoys a good flatulence joke.

I can lie on the floor with a blanket over my head and say "Where's mommy?" and Baby Girl will crawl across the room, pull the blanket off and laugh hysterically. She totally loves me. And she's got that object permanence thing down. (I'm a nerd. A proud, proud nerd.)

And there are a million more things that I love and enjoy. That I enjoy even when I'm tired, even when I'm frustrated. When I feel bad, it's easy to think that I always feel bad, and that I always will feel bad, but it's just not true. Sometimes I just need a little reminder.