This week has been a busy one at the Palmer house. Yes, I said “house.” (!!!) Our little shoebox of an apartment is a thing of the past forever.
We finished moving the final box into our new house around midnight last night, and now, for the last hour, I have been sitting in my living room surrounded by proof of my pack-rat tendencies. (Confession is the first step towards healing.)
Rather than doing something about the stacks of boxes and piles of random things littered around the room, I’ve been sitting here watching Jacob watch the toys above his swing. This wouldn’t be particularly interesting (in fact, to anyone but a mother, it would be the equivalent of watching paint dry), but it is a clear example of a truth I realized last week: after motherhood, your priorities change drastically.
I first realized this Thanksgiving night when I stopped pretending that I would actually get up at 3 o’ clock the next morning to join in our nationwide celebration of mass consumerism. I hadn’t missed Black Friday shopping since I was old enough to spell “sale,” but this year, staying snuggled in my bed instead of saving three dollars on an electric nose hair trimmer seemed completely logical. At first, I told myself my decision to stay home was a result of a pecan-pie hangover, but I wasn’t kidding anyone (namely, myself). I wanted to sleep.
A few years back, I never would have believed I’d rather sleep than shop. But, a few years back, I wasn’t a mother to a newborn. Now, sleep is even more precious a commodity than sale-priced nose hair trimmers on Black Friday.
I don’t regret my decision to stay home one bit. (Mostly because Jacob rewarded me by sleeping for nine hours straight, his longest stretch yet!) I also don’t regret hanging out with my son instead of unpacking boxes or cleaning off the rust spot on my couch that has been staring me down for the last hour.
In years past, I wouldn’t have understood preferring to sit and stare at a small human being rather than doing something more “productive.” But, now, I understand it perfectly. The boxes can wait and there will be other Black Fridays, but my little guy will only be this little once. There is no doubt that my priorities have shifted since Jacob was born, and I’m so glad.
