Having a baby is not like having an angry boss (part 1)

You have heard an analogy before that goes something like this:  “Having a baby is like having a demanding boss breathing down your back 24 hours a day.”

I realize that who ever first came up with this idea was trying to give sort of recognition to stay at home parents.  The hours are long, your work never seems to be good enough, you are always on call etc., etc.  Those are all true.   I also realize that my children aren’t infants.  But, my 3 year old is pretty demanding.  Not nearly as demanding as when he was an infant, but not exactly easy to care for either.  My 7 and 8 year old can be difficult too.  But, I won’t pretend that it is nearly as challenging as the infant and preschool years in this area.

Once in a blue moon Often, life devoted to a young child is much better then it would be with a demanding boss.  Today after calling Jack in sick to school (only to  discover him suddenly “better” within 5 minutes), the boys and I headed to Point Defiance.  I chose where and when we were going (they’re not the boss of me!), and we hit the trails.  We took Dixie along too.  Most mean bosses don’t let you bring your dog to work.   My boys even played with her.  We brought along a bag to collect nature treasures.  Since I assigned a nature walk to 2 of my classes this week, I thought that we should do our homework too.  The trails were empty as they often are in the fall.  We compared the feel of different mosses, listed to birds and something that sounded like a tree frog.  We collected soggy pinecones and pieces of fern.  The air was beautiful and crisp.  The park was intensely green.  When we were done, we turned around and headed home to create our new mantel:

Liam and Jack's Treasure Jars

An Autumn Afternoon

This morning I had supportive co-workers.  They were the slightly under-qualified, “still learning the ropes” types.  But, they were eager go -getters.  


What do you think?  Is life with an infant or preschooler harder or easier then having a tyrannical boss?