Changing shape

The kiddos and I are in Ohio visiting family and reconnecting with an old friend.  She lives in a great three story Tudor, tucked into a really neat part of Cleveland, and was gracious (or crazy) enough to invite us to stay with them.  Her two boys are 4 and 2, so Little Guy is enjoying a little rough and tumble fun.  Girlie is in charge of all of them and really loves being the boss, not that I have any idea where that comes from.

Last night my girlfriend and I stayed up until after midnight with a bottle of wine, laughing about old times.  She remembers me before I had kids.  We moved away from one another just after Girlie turned a year old and the gal she describes almost seems like another person.  Sometimes I get so caught up in worrying about how having children has changed me, that I completely miss how some of the changes have been for the better.  I have learned to be more relaxed about not having all the answers and to even embrace and enjoy the surprises.  The perfectionist is now a realist.

So I might have been an octagon before, insisting that you stop and pay attention, and now I am more like a circle.  Not so sharp, but just rolling with it.