Help

Today someone asked me what it was like when the girls were in their first year.

My answer was that it was a series of opposites; I was exhausted and thrilled, tired and focused, bored and stimulated.

“That’s amazing,” the person said.

“Well,” I replied, “I had help. Lots of help.”

“Sure but I bet you learned to change a nappy pretty quickly!”

I did learn that yes, got it down to 11 seconds in fact! But I also learned to do something I have resisted for years; to accept help. It’s pretty hard to do three babies on your own. Grandparents all lived miles away. Husband needed to work to pay the bills. If someone offered me help, I had to say yes. It was not easy. It did not come naturally. But I learned to do it. And saying yes to help is a gift to yourself and to the person offering.