Make Peace with Inconvenience

In my pre-parent life, I adored convenience. I went to great lengths to make sure life was as uncomplicated as possible. But lately I've realized that my obsession with convenience is usually just...laziness. And I'm learning that kids are...inconvenient. So I've been trying let go of my need for the 'c' word and not always seek the road of least resistance. Some things just take a lot of time, but if you immerse yourself in a task, instead of trying to rush through it, you'll enjoy it more, and probably do a better job.

It's hard not to prize convenience when society does its best to convince us we cannot possibly attend to a task if it requires actual effort. But I can't help but wonder where all the time we are saving by using 'time-saving' devices is going. Aren't we in fact just busier, because we can cram more activities into our days?

One of Em's favorite activities is going berserk in her doorway bouncer. She flails, yanks, spins, and leaps. One day I found myself tiring of constantly hanging the bouncer up in the doorway, and taking it down when she was done. Up and down, up and down. Then I thought, "Why should this bother me? No, it's not convenient, but it's probably helping me lose some of the upper arm fat that's been causing me to avoid capped sleeves." 

By altering my attitude toward convenience, I've found more peace as a parent. It's okay that it takes fifteen minutes to outfit Em in the winter. It's alright if I have to circle the grocery store three times because I keep forgetting things (probably because Em is eating my list). It's fine if I have to do a single load of laundry for three days in a row, instead of getting them all done the same day. It's okay.