Two

My son turns two today.

I don’t write much about parenting him. I certainly don’t write as much about parenting him as I write about parenting my daughter. There are a lot of reasons for this; mostly it’s because parenting him is a lot easier for me, and I don’t generally come here to write about the easy stuff.

What I should write about more is how thankful I am that he’s here, that he came in time for me to realize that I wasn’t failing as horribly at parenting as I thought I was, that there were other factors at play, that I was right when guessed that maybe I was having a different experience than most mothers, that when I mentioned something that felt hard and another mom commiserated and I felt like maybe we were talking about very different things, that we were.

My son taught me that I CAN be the mother I thought I’d be, even if I’m not that mother in challenging circumstances. Knowing that I can be that mother, that I am that mother, that the experience I expected was not completely out of my reach, was healing in ways I can’t describe. Only in finding that peace was I able to fully embrace the mother I am, and to glimpse the mother I could be, to my first child.

My son healed me in so many ways. He came to me when I had given up hope of having another child and he taught me things about myself that only a second child could teach me. I am always and forever filled with gratitude that he is here.

Thank you my sweet boy. I look forward to walking through life with you.

11 Comments

  1. Happy birthday to him! I blog a lot more about my son than my daughter, because parenting him takes a lot more thought. But I post on FB more about my daughter, who says & does cute things. In truth, I love them both equally. They’re just different.

    1. I love mine both equally, but differently. It’s hard sometimes for my brain to understand it, but my heart does. Absolutely. 😉

  2. 🙂 I could have written this exact post about my daughter (and my older son) who also happens to be two today. What a different journey it is with a different child – happy birthday to our littles! I am so glad we both have these amazing little beings and the perspective that comes with parenting them. They are true gifts.

    1. I have been so thankful for this different journey with this different child. So, so thankful. Happy birthday today to your sweet girl!

  3. Awww. Happiest of Birthdays to your little guy! I feel the same about my little one, I don’t know if its just the personality or something about being the second kid, but parenting him is like a breath of fresh air

    1. I think it’s a little of both. It can’t be a coincidence that so many second kids are so easy going.

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