It is rare that a news headline takes my breath away in shock. Headlines that come to mind are the end of the Communist Party in 1991 (the day after our wedding reception), the destruction of the Berlin Wall, the Florida Marlins winning the World Series and the disclosure that movie theater popcorn was terribly unhealthy!
So when I saw this headline this week...I gasped...
Firstborn Children Get More of Parents' Time
Who would have ever imagined? I guess someone must have seen me leave my son in his carrier by the benches at the park while I rescued my dangling daughter from the jungle gym. Someone must have counted the hours that I spent reading The Secret Garden to my daughter while someone else counted how many pages I skipped over reading One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish to my son. Maybe they noticed that my daughter had her first McDonald's french fry at the age of two while in the clutches of her adopted grandmother Mo-Mo and that Rory probably sucked on his first french fry on the way home from the hospital.
What about Moms? We got more time and attention when we gave birth to our firstborns. 22 visitors the day after Haley was born. Nary a one the day after Rory was born (OK, it was Christmas Eve...but still!) Surrounded by friends and family bearing gifts and offering meals when we arrived home with #1. Husband and his best friend sitting on the couch watching football asking what was for dinner when we arrived home with #2. (OK, it was a Sunday...but still!)
Could the people who devoted all this time, energy and money on proving this self-evident truth please get to work on the soundproof divider between the driver's seat and the annoying children in the back of the minivan? At least that would be USEFUL!
Di
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