Perspective

Things you take for granted before you have a baby:

• Sleep. Uninterrupted sleep. Carefree sleep. Glorious, sexy, enchanting sleep. 
• Taking a shower without fail every day, rather than when it is no longer an option NOT to. 
• The simplicity of a road trip free from breaks for nursing, diaper changes, car seat liberation and the purchase of anything crinkly that will keep him happy because KID I SWEAR IT'S JUST TWENTY MORE MINUTES.
• Your parents. Your poor, tired, self-sacrificing, worry-ridden parents, for whom you feel a new and lasting bond.
• Sleeping through thunderstorms.
• Shaving your legs whenever you feel like it, rather than when the friction of your hairy legs on the sheets in bed starts small household fires.
• Finishing a meal while your food's still even a little bit warm.
• Finishing a meal without bending at the waist eighty-seven times to pick up a dropped toy.
• Walking through your living room without fear of stepping on a block in the dark.
• Leaving the house to go to the grocery store without diapers, wipes, toys, a seat cover for the shopping cart, a Baby Bjorn carrier, a car seat, an infant, and a list that contains things like, "something that will occupy him in the tub."

Things that make it all worth it:

Everything about this guy.