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By the hilarious Grace Farris.
P.S. Classic mom advice and social distancing thoughts.
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as someone going through years of infertility treatments and still no baby….another thing to remember is how many women would do anything to be in your shoes…
With an infant and a 5yo, ALL of this is so true right now. Just a phase of our little family’s life. Trying to be present for it (within a sad and scary phase for our country/world). Love to all the parents out there. ❤️
Lovely reminder that I’m not alone while nursing my newborn in the middle of the night… I started to listen to the Harry Potter audiobooks to get me through; it sure makes being awake not so hard!
Also, put your phone down so you can go back to sleep.
Hahaha!
This is great! I remember being a first-time mom, being up at 3am with my baby, both of us crying, and thinking, “Fuck, this is isn’t what I signed up for. I can’t do this forever.” And what’s great is that it’s not forever, just a little while, and then it’s on to the next thing. But you’re a little bit stronger and wiser because you’ve made it through the previous phases. As each phase ends, I’m glad that it’s done, but still a little sad to see it go.
This makes me think of Billy Collins’ The Lanyard.
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/50975/the-lanyard
Makes me laugh-cry every time.
Does she sell prints?!
And one day, in the not so far future, that baby will be a toddler and will lay her head in your lap and say “I wuv you” for no reason at all. Doesn’t make those nights any easier, but maybe sweeter?
Thank you Grace! So true. It’s all a phase. Thanks for these beautiful, heartfelt and funny cartoons, I love them!
Ah! Can you see me?!
lol! mine are 5, 7, 9 and this rings so true. funny because it’s true!! for you new moms out there – this is what’s coming!!
“BUT I WANTED BLIPPI DUMP TRUUUUUUCKS!!!”
“noooo! not that one!!!!”
we must be in a similar stage haha!
I get how sweet and funny and supportive this is meant to be, but the part about “if you’re lucky!” your kid will be able to talk to you is kind of painful, especially on the heels of the last essay by a mom of a profoundly disabled daughter. Not everyone gets to be so “lucky.”
Oh this is so sweet! My first-born was this baby up all night long, and all day long for the first 2 years of his life. He is now a teenager who socializes on video games and is up all night long now hanging with his friends!
Well this is me and it made me tear up. This isn’t what I thought the world would look like having our third baby but all the same this time is so sweet, precious, and fleeting. I feel seen and less alone. Also comforting in the middle of the night: the new Baby Sitters Club on Netflix which I can’t wait to watch with my baby when she’s a tween girl.
Yes I have a newborn and am enjoying the Baby-sitters Club! It’s perfect for these times – a sweet nostalgic feel-good show.
Ha! Reading this at a 4am feed of a teething baby. Thanks for the laugh.
This is so sweet! To all the women awake in the night with their babies.
Love this!
Hahaha. Read while nursing. Xoxo.
Unrelated request– can we get a post about convincing older loved ones to take the pandemic seriously? Or, does anyone have advice? My in-laws are traveling to their vacation home, flying, and generally ignoring best practices. They’re not anti-science or the type to go to “reopen” protests, they just don’t seem to think the rules apply to them. Ugh, it’s so stressful!
Yes! The minute we got out of phase 1 my parents are visiting with half the town it seems. My mom called to tell me my cousin tested positive and then said she had to go or she’d be late for brunch with her friends. My other cousin tested positive and thankfully recovered, but they were preparing us for his death. Even when it is so close to home, my parents still don’t get it. They are smart, kind folks who are pro-science. I don’t understand why they do not seem to care about the risks.
Yes, please consider this!! I’m in a similar situation with folks in the older generation in my family, too. Not flying, thank goodness. But on this everyday level, they just don’t seem to understand how much riskier the old “normal” of things are…
What I learned in the pandemic—what the risk tolerances of my nearest and dearest are…
I think it’s a sense of invincibility? Or a fear that acknowledging a potentially deadly illness would make you face your own fears of death? My mom just traveled from the Houston area to visit my 92 year old grandmother(!). Like, she knows that my close friend died of complications from H1N1 at 24 (ventilator > ecmo > lung transplant > several bouts of pneumonia, etc.). Why take these risks? I don’t have any advice . . . The furthest I’ve gotten is getting her to reconsider her gym attendance even though people are only permitted to take masks off while using the treadmills there . . .
I don’t have any advice. My mom is like your mother in law. She and her husband are going out boating with friends and hosting dinner parties. Her perspective is – if I’m about to go, then I’m going to live my life..
Ahh I love this – what a delightful and realistic ending!
And then more quickly than you can imagine, you’re not sleeping because you’re waiting for your teenager to pull her car into the driveway and be home safely.
SNORT! Lol so much! Yes, yes they will…
OMG I love this! I have a six-week old (who is up all hours!) and an 11-year old, and this is 100 percent true. It’s such a good reminder to see the humor in parenting challenges. Also, solidarity! <3
This is lovely. It made me smile and I’m not even a mom! Thanks, Grace.
I am reading this in the hospital as my husband recovers from a cycling accident. After all of the care I am giving him now, and I anticipate continuing to give once he is released, I hope I throw something soft at him when he inevitably puts his foot in it and ticks me off!
Sending you a lot of strength, Kristin. :)
Thinking of you, Kristin. My husband is a cyclist too and I am most thankful when I see him coming home.
This is so spot on! My third little girl, Ruby, was just born on Monday, so reading this felt extremely comforting. Even for a “seasoned” parent. Thank you <3
Hahaha! :D
Oh THIS made me laugh after another morning housebound with my three small kids. Thanks
This made me laugh out loud because I have a 3mo old who keeps me up at night and a 3yo who is very vocal about his screentime choices. (And a 1yo who is the worst of both by sometimes waking and sometimes grunting for his favorite shows.) Thanks for the laugh!
I love this. I started reading Cup of Jo in 2013, when I was nursing my twin girls in the middle of the night. My nightly reads were like getting a warm hug from a friend and kept me going during difficult times. I’m still a daily reader nearly seven years later!
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