Increments of time

Yesterday was one of the sunniest and hottest days of the year so far, the wind was blowing, the Bob Marley was playing, the neighbors that never come out of their house decided this was the day to revamp their overgrown forgotten garden...all was right in the sunny Oregon Spring. Standing there, babe in arms, I decided this was the day to detail the truck. I have been wanting to do it for 6 months, it needed it terribly, the interior ambiance consisted of crumpled up napkins, old coffee cups, smeared food items, and yes, a few diapers nicely folded and shoved under the seat *ashamed*. Little did I know, the events that would unfold in the next 4 hours would lead me to have my latest parental epiphany. It is as follows: Partly, good parenting, and ultimately parental bliss, hinges on both realizing and accepting the fact, that you are going to be living your life incrementally. I remember when we were fresh, we brought Una home and had no idea that we were not going to sleep for the next 3 weeks. I tried to push my will upon this new force of nature that I had given birth to, alas, she broke me. And so it began, my incremental life. It started with feedings every two hours, diapers every 1 hour, it has led to many others, naps for 2 hours twice a day every 4 hours or so, I can drink wine every 2 hours for an hour, she will tolerate the swing for 20 minutes, the rocker for 40 minutes, and tummy time for 30 seconds. She will let me watch a movie for 35 minutes, be on the internet for 5 minutes, and read a book for 26 seconds, yes, this is why, on a beautiful Saturday, with the bumblebees buzzing, and the birds chirping, it would take me 4 hours to clean the truck. From rocker, to car seat, to ergo, to stroller I got the sensation that the whole neighborhood was watching me bound and determined, laughing of course. In the end the truck was spotless and the baby was happy, and so was I for that matter. I have given my will and my efficiency over to parenting, I have sacrificed time lines and foolish prideful planning to the parental deities, and in doing so, found my rhythm. Thanks Una.