I think we’ve all heard the quote: “You learn something new every day.” And I agree, it’s important we continually learn new things. It could be something big, like changing the tire on your car, or something small, like how to make chocolate chip cookies. At least for me anyway. However, if we aren’t careful, we could miss the opportunity to learn something new, because it can come in all shapes and sizes.
My husband, Alex, asked me the other week what my favorite thing about becoming a parent was. I honestly had to take a second and think. You see, I find myself getting into so much of a routine with Ezri that, being a new mom, I tend to forget there’s so much more to parenting than just taking care of your kid’s needs. I looked over to Alex and said, “Ezri teaches me new things.”
Let me explain.
Ezri is almost 4 months old, so she’s experiencing many things for the first time. If you just watch her eyes, you can see how she’s taking in the world around her. Any time I look at her, I see the wonder in her eyes as she sits there in awe of everything, because it’s all brand new to her. She’s teaching me to not take things for granted, and showing me how to love where I live, the different things I see every day, and the new people we meet.
Without fail, every morning when our little family wakes up for the day, she opens her eyes to look at mom and dad and gives us the biggest smile. I spend all my time with this girl, and even if I leave the room for a minute and come back to her, she just lights up and gets so excited. When her daddy comes home from work for the day, again, without fail, she will see him walk through the door and give him the most loving smile. She looks at him with admiring eyes. All he has to say to her is “Hi little one!” and she is smiling from ear to ear. So, Ezri is teaching me to love more intentionally and how to love deeper.
Am I teaching her? Or is she teaching me?
Any time I pictured being a parent, I thought about how excited I was to teach our baby. I was eager for her to see the world. I wanted to teach her how to cook, how to play different sports, and maybe even how to play an instrument. But honestly? I never could’ve imagined how much she would be teaching me.
There are things we could learn every day. New opportunities of growth continually surround us. But it doesn’t always have to come from someone “older and wiser”. There are things right in front of you that you would least expect to teach you so many new things… even a baby can teach you so much.
Read More Below
- My Labor and Delivery Story
- My Postpartum Journey
- Grief of What Was
- The Day Time Stopped
- To the Mama Who Tries to Do It All
