Brian giving himself a bath in his newborn brother's baby bath - 1988

Brian giving himself a bath in his newborn brother’s baby bath – 1988. I found that blow up faucet cover in the back of the bathroom cupboard last year.

It’s amazing. It seems like yesterday we were baby proofing our home. I remember being a new mom and scouring the market for ways to keep my baby safe. There weren’t many back in the day so we did some makeshift baby proofing with everyday items. We thought that we’d be endlessly chasing bits of fluff off the carpet to keep the baby from eating them and spending our free time thinking of new ways to keep the boys from throwing themselves off the deck which was built without a railing (at the time the building codes didn’t require them).

When my kids become wild and unruly, I use a nice, safe playpen. When they're finished, I climb out. ~Erma BombeckAs the kids got older we started remove the objects that kept them safe but blocked us at every turn. We took the gates down long ago (I think one is still hanging out in the garage though) and we removed the drawer and door latches. But even now I’m always surprised when I find something that we’ve forgotten or that got overlooked in the baby de-proofing and it generally makes me tear up remembering the days when they were required.

It can be a power outlet that’s been hidden by furniture for the last 20 years that still has its baby proof cover on it or something random, like bike helmets. We’re cleaning out the garage and there they were, all still strapped to the rafters like they’re waiting for another outing and above them the bike rack that we used to transport them on the car. It seems impossible that they’ve been there for about 10 years unused and they used to be worn almost daily. Sadly I couldn’t find a single photo of the boys biking -they exist, but I’ve haven’t gotten around to scanning the thousands of pictures we took when they were kids.  I hope to get back to that soon – after all, I’m growing older and one thing I’ve got plenty of is time.

Making the best of growing old and enjoying some of the finer things in life

It’s sad but there are good things about un-baby proofing your home too. Today I tossed out all of the old glasses and cups from the “kid” days – the mismatched sets, the McDonald Disney and Coke glasses, and all the other chipped cups. I replaced them with adult glasses – wine glasses and goblets that my husband will break in no time (I bought extra) – that just scream that there are no children in this house. It’s bitter sweet and I’d give anything to have plastic sippy cups in the cupboard once again, but because that can’t happen, I’m moving on and moving up. Well that is after I finish soaking all the stupid labels off the glasses. Grrr….

I don’t even drink but I’m enjoying my diet soda with ice and lemon in my new wine glasses.  Take that old age!

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