I’m raising a human being not managing an inconvenience

I think I could just write the title of the blog as the actual blog and leave it for comment.  I borrowed this from a member of a birth board I’m part of she has it as part of her signature and I find it to be a provocative statement.
Let’s talk about management for a minute because we are all managers.  We manage our homes, our relationships our jobs …. we manage each other and ourselves.  To a certain extent we manage our children, so that we can manage everything else.  I manage my child in that I need him to eat at 6:45 in the morning so that I can get him packed up and off to daycare.
I also manage his afternoons so that I can get him to bed and so that I have enough time at night to re-pack and prep for the following day.  Its incredible to think of how much time I spend thinking of how much time I have to do tasks.  “If he can nurse in 10 minutes I’ll have just enough time to get him in the car and out the door” … for example.
I think its so important for us to remember what the title of this blog is all about and its so hard at the same time.  We are raising human beings … a little human I like to call mine.  So often we are pulled in so many directions we forget that we are instilling and creating impressions, images, feelings, self worth, self confidence, angst, love, fear … the list goes on and on and is overwhelming and terrifying.  To know that I am responsible for this little life is mind boggling and something I couldn’t think of every day because I’m sure I would lose my mind trying to always make sure I’m doing the “right” thing.  So instead I think sometimes I focus on what I can handle everyday which is what time did he eat? What time did he nap? Are his clothes clean, his bottles washed?
The time and the days tick by so quickly and babies change every day its impossible for us to keep up.  My son is not the same today as he was yesterday and today is Sunday.  So instead of staring at my child and memorizing all the little ways he has evolved in the past 24 hours I will instead.  Go to the grocery store, do the laundry, pack his bags, pack my lunches, make dinner for tonight through Tuesday night and do some prep for Wednesday’s dinner.
If I could focus more everyday on what is important in my life instead of the details of making life happen I think I would be blissfully happy.  My husband is the love of my life, my child is happy and healthy.  My dog is a big stupid animal that loves strangers more than she loves me, but I wouldn’t trade her for anything and my cat urinate’s on my clothes when she has decided she is mad at me.  Those four things are the best part of my world and I wish I could do nothing but dote on and spend time with them.  Unfortunately I can’t because there are so many other things to do in a day.  Maybe though if I play my cards right, every day I will take a moment to remember that I’m raising a human being, not managing an inconvenience. ( thank you bookgoddess for this inspiration)