The N Word

NEVER.

As in, "never say never."

I've eaten that word more times than I can count (maybe that accounts for the extra 20, ok, 30, pounds!)

For example (this is one of my favorites):

I told my mom back in 1996 or 1997 that I would NEVER live in Texas. Even when I moved here in late 1997, I promised to be back in two years after graduate school. 

Oops.

After losing a bunch of weight a few years ago, I swore I'd NEVER weigh XXX pounds again. 

Oops. (I'm still blaming the high caloric content of the N word)

I'll NEVER, EVER buy cowboy boots.  

Connie and me, Cattle Baron's 2011

Ooops. (they're pretty cute!)


Having children has brought about some of the biggest N missteps ever.


My children will NEVER use a pacifier. (spoken like someone who hadn't had children yet and enjoyed 8-9 full hours of sleep a night.) About three weeks into Curt's life he was sucking a blister on my pinkie finger and the sensory benefits of a pacifier seemed paramount to anything else. Curt AND Luke used pacifiers. Luke got his the first day in the hospital. And guess what? It didn't hurt them, mess up breastfeeding or ANYTHING. Phew.


I will NEVER co-sleep. Again, totally underestimated the effects of sleeplessness. Baby Luke, who had to eat EVERY 90 MINUTES (I do not exaggerate) was easier served plopped next to me in bed. And guess what? I never rolled over on top of him and I'm pretty sure he's not scarred for life.


I will NEVER put my children in front of a television. Baby Einstein.  30 minutes of bliss every afternoon at 5 p.m. That's all I'm sayin'. 


I will NEVER buy a DVD player for my car. And technically, I didn't. My parents did (with my permission). And while we still play the alphabet game, the license plate game and look out the windows on long road trips (because the West Texas landscape is SO compelling), I'd much rather hear the boys giggling in the backseat to Looney Tunes dvd's than fighting. Call me crazy.

And now that they're getting older, I would NEVER get them their own computer. Well ya know what? Curt HOGS my laptop to work on his website and Power Point presentations. And I work from home a lot. So I'm *considering* it...

Maybe what I should do is say I'll NEVER do/get the things I REALLY want.