It's one of those meaningless truisms of the before: people tell you, with a sigh or a smile, that life changes once you have kids. Sure, you think. Whatever. You're tired of the advice before you even give birth. And then kids happen, and you're so busy you can't even see the change, aside from all the new fluids and messes. I certainly didn't.
But after five years of raising children, I routinely use the phrase kid-friendly. I never used to care about a restaurant's ability to serve children, and now I tell people which ones are "so kid-friendly." It's the same with stores and other public places; I tend to separate them into which places are good to go with kids and which are not. It matters to me that our neighbors are friendly, protective, and present and that there are children living on the streets around us. Before kids, I never really understood just how much time I would spend at zoos or other children's birthday parties. Or how something like naps could make your day or ruin it. And these days, I grasp the dreamy promise of appliances, those machines in your house that supposedly make the work there easy. Here's to the boring, mundane things you never thought were special before kids:
What makes your list?