Things I took for granted before having kids

There are a lot of things in daily life as a non-parent that you just don't realize the value of until those things are gone. I've taken a minute to make a very non-exhaustive list of those things, especially for those who are about to have their first baby. People tell you life will never be same, but they don't really tell you how; here are just a few of the ways they're referring to.

 

Things I took for granted before having kids:

• Getting to go to the bathroom alone and with the door closed
• Taking a shower - even a 3-minute one
• Sleeping in (sleep in general, actually)
• Sitting down to eat a meal
• Eating a warm meal
• Staying up late
• Staying out late
• Going out at all
• Making it to places on time and without embarassing stuff on my clothes
• A house that smells nice
• Reading the mail before it got lost
• Playing loud music any time of day or night
• Eating things that are bad for me in the middle of the day
• Wearing white or off-white
• Going shopping by myself
• Leaving the house to go burn off steam
• Being able to carelessly judge all parents whose kids pitch fits in public, whine, or have dirty faces
• Not having hemorrhoids (sorry, that may be tmi)

The good news is that even though having kids means you lose many things that you value, your life doesn't go down  in value one bit. It goes way up. You trade daily comforts and an easy-going lifestyle for a precious, beautiful baby and the many emotions, memories, and miracles they bring.