tip of the week: cherish every moment

One of the things I learned quite quickly when Polly and I got married and once again when Polly and I discovered we were pregnant was that everyone had advice. People came out of the woodwork offering up unsolicited nuggets of wisdom. And, often times, the advice one person gave was contradictory to the advice of another. The amount of advice proved to be quite overwhelming. I mean, how could I sift all the good from all the bad? The unfortunate consequence of receiving so much advice was that I ended up ignoring almost all of it. The response wasn't even necessarily intentional. There was simply no way for me to internalize it all. It was definitely a case of advice overload.

I deeply appreciate my parents. My dad and I sat and talked the week before I got married. He told me (paraphrasing), "Everyone is going to have advice for you. Don't worry about them. Every situation is different. You'll have to figure out what works for you and Polly." Amidst all the advice I'd been hearing to that point, this was music to my ears. I really appreciated him saying that. He then threw in this caveat (paraphrasing again), "The only advice I want to give you is this: Cherish Polly." You might say that it was contradictory for him to make that statement he made before giving me advice. But this advice was unlike the other advice I had been hearing. This was the good stuff I wish I had heard more of. How basic. How simple. Cherish Polly.

Cherishing Polly and cherishing every moment I spend with her is something I take very seriously. I love my wife. I thank God for her every day (literally). Polly and I have always made it a point to spend a lot of time together.  I cherish her. I cherish every moment with her.

Last Saturday, my parents came over our house and watched Genevieve so Polly and I could go out for a little bit. Since Genevieve doesn't take a bottle yet, we are limited in the amount of time we can spend away. Polly and I had not been apart from Genevieve together since she was born. Polly and I were excited for the opportunity.

We went to Friendly's for some ice cream. The place was packed so we ordered it to go and ate it in our car in the parking lot. We were only gone for 30-45 minutes, but I cherished every minute of it. We loved the opportunity. (If you don't think that counts as a date, you clearly don't have a nursing newborn.)

I love both my wife and daughter, but my wife was the one I specifically chose. She will always be my first love (after God)! I think it is incredibly important for us to set aside time just for the two of us. And when those moments come, I intend to cherish every moment! I encourage you all to do the same as well.