Jackson had his first fever this week, and I wound up staying home with him to make sure he was ok before we exposed him to his playmate Henry, and to comfort him of course. Lately my advice to new moms has been to outsource everything you just can't get done yourself anymore. Being business-minded, it comes down to how much your time is worth, and if I can get someone else to do things for me cheaper and faster, and it makes the house not fall apart between 2 hectic careers, a dog, and a baby - done. But lately I stepped back and realized that we've outsourced all the stuff I used to do - dogwalking, daycare, meal preparation, house cleaning, tax preparation, financial management - and a few thoughts struck me. First, those activities weren't 'worth' anything inside the house, but as soon as someone else is doing the same activity, suddenly it now has a value (and a high one at that!) Second, how the hell was I able to get all those things done?? And finally, the one thing I never want to outsource, that was reinforced when Jackson was sick, was being his mama. When you feel like crap and you can't yet express what's wrong and you just want to be held...there's no substitute for mom. And as much as I wasn't thrilled about trying to work from home and take care of Jackson for the day, I relished the time just holding him all day and reading and laughing, because soon he'll jump off my lap and make mudpies and not be in the mood to cuddle. But for now, sorry kid - you're all mine!
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