Recalibrating Expectations

I stole this phrase from a friend of mine who has had to make some difficult decisions in the last few months. She wrote an interesting post on her blog about change and how sometimes even though we accept change, we don't necessarily expect things to change. 

Here is how it struck me. At any moment I could go into labor and our family of three becomes a family of four. The way I have been thinking lately, especially on those hard days, is how in the world will I manage? How can I do this with one, let alone two? How can I fix dinner? How can I get the laundry done, or take a shower, or go to the store, or put Cayden down for a nap, or keep any sort of schedule when there is another baby to look after? Trust me. There are hundreds of these questions and hypothetical situations that run through my brain each and every day. After reading her post, I realized that I was thinking about it in the wrong way. Instead of figuring out a way to do things the exact same way that I have been doing them, I really need to recalibrate my expectations. Maybe I won't get a shower in each and every day. Maybe my current ability to put Cayden in the car seat and run to the store will be different because there are two now. I need to realize that I can't expect things to be the exact same as they are now. Obviously that seems like common sense, but I had to really sit down and take that to heart. My expectations of how life will be need to change, just a bit.

With all of that said, she also wrote about stuff she "gets to do" vs. stuff she "has to do." I think it all goes together. Not only do I get to be a mom to Cayden, I also get to be a mom to Beckham. I get to stay home with both of them. I get to be there for each and every moment - the good, the bad, and the ugly. Because I get to stay home, I get to work on my spending habits. (ouch)

It's all about looking at things in a positive light - trust me, I can be a Debbie Downer, but I'm recalibrating my expectations.

Here's the deal: Our family has a tendency to make big changes, all at once. Consider the past two years. We got pregnant with Cayden, sold our house, moved into an apartment, built a house, had Cayden, and moved in. All within a year.

Stay tuned, Baby Beckham isn't the only major change coming to this household.