Ahh...Memories

I have been thinking a lot about what my personal life has become recently. Living with a small, imaginative and slightly hyper (*cough...cough*) child keeps you on your toes. Things change so much that it is not only hard to keep up, but you don't have to time to even think about how your world has been altered. During one particularly rigorous, weekend housecleaning session, I had the realization that I now find myself doing a lot of things that I never imagined would be part of my daily routine. I began fondly remembering aspects of my former life as a N.C.C.P (Non-Crazy Child Parent). I decided I needed to share those things that have been seriously altered in my life within the past 4 years.

I remember when:

• Cleaning the house didn't involve scraping 'things' off the entertainment center with my thumbnail.
• I could leave a restaurant and not be sticky (or embarrassed).
• I could watch a movie (TV show, commercial...anything) without having to answer 30 BAZILLION questions.
• (related to the above) I remember when I used to know the answer to a question... ("Why is that cow brown?")
• (also related to the above)...or could even understand the question in the first place...("How is that man with wings mad at the brown zombie cow?")
• I remember the days when my living room carpet was the same color.
• Doing the laundry didn't require a multitude of stain identification/removal techniques.
• I almost remember what waking up 'naturally' feels like - and I'm pretty sure it didn't involve someone climbing into your bed and farting on you.
• I also remember when I didn't spend a significant amount of my day cleaning stickers off things.
• When telling someone "just a minute" actually lasted a minute.
• I could vacuum the carpet without first inspecting it with a magnifying glass for small toy-like objects.
• There was a time when I ordered a meal without being asked if ..."it was for a boy or a girl".
• I used to take days off of work because I was the one who was sick.
• A quiet house didn't make me nervous.
• I could be more than 4 feet away from the paper towel at any given moment.

That all being said, I also remember that my days in the past were never this hilarious, unpredictable and oddly rewarding. I go to bed at night happy that we all made it through the day unscathed - even if the carpet didn't. So I will gladly keep trying to identify which toy the mysterious chunk of broken plastic belongs to... or finding ways to remove ballpoint pen marks from the couch cushions... it's worth it in the end.

Really...