Les Jones

Home Life > Kids

Uncle talks about the trials and tribulations of parenthood. It sure enough is a lot of work. I was shocked recently to come up with these numbers for me and Melissa and two kids in diapers:

• We wash six or seven loads of dishes a week.
• We wash six or seven loads of laundry a week.
• We take out six or seven bags of garbage a week.

We're still not getting tons of sleep, but it's so much better now than it was. Natalie was cholicy for the first three or four months. That was not fun. Even after that it was rough.

Then we realized one reason we were getting so little sleep. It was taking us an hour or more to get ready for bed. Going to bed at night involves baths, changing diapers, feedings, food for the cat and dog, insulin for the cat, reading books, cleaning up the kitchen and starting the dishwasher, and then getting ourselves unwound and ready for bed. We're better at it now, and we've put together some systems, routines, and assigned chores (Melissa takes care of Katie and the cat, I take care of Natalie and the dog) so we know what we're supposed to do.

It's lots of work, but it's doable and it's rewarding. I've liked having kids even more than I thought I would.