The things I've learned since becoming a SAHM

I learned SAHM means stay at home mom, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

Before this journey began I was a totally different person. And I don't just mean emotionally and physically, though those particular topics could be blogs in and of themselves (read the destruction of self and bladder control all rolled into one,) I mean intellectually. I swear I used to be a smart person. I went to college. I had a job. I wore a lab coat for crying out loud! But since this new "job" started, I have slowly morphed into someone I am not sure I recognize anymore, intellectually speaking. So, I decided to come up with a list of things I have LEARNED over the last three and a half years to prove to myself that a) I still have the ability to learn, and 2) I actually HAVE learned. So here goes.
1. I've learned how to bathe, feed, change, and otherwise take care of a baby.
2. I've learned all about colic.
3. I've learned how bad it hurts to step on a lego.
4. I've learned how to make home made play-doh.
5. I've learned several Disney movies by heart.
6. I've learned if I don't shower every day, I feel like a slob.
7. I've learned that eating in the car is a big mistake.
8. I've learned that bad things can happen with a Sharpie marker. (sorry Sam)
9. I've learned how to crochet toys.
10. I've learned poison control's phone number.
11. I've learned compassion for the other mothers at the grocery store who have grumpy kids.
12. I've learned (although I rarely actually practice) doing my dishes every night makes the morning better.
13. I've learned to look for misplaced items in VERY strange places.
14. I've learned to let some of the littler things go...ie the pink slime growing in the toilet.
15. I've learned I actually do have a creative side. Mmm....beads :)

Now here is a list of things I am still TRYING to grasp.
1. I'm learning how to float instead of swim. (thanks Nan)
2. I'm learning how to remember I am, in fact, a woman and not just a mother.
3. I'm learning how to calm down.
4. I'm learning how to appreciate the little things.
5. I'm learning the words "organized, clean, and simple" don't necessarily go with the SAHM territory.

I may not be looking into a microscope every day, wearing my lab coat and talking to doctors. I may not be running complex machines, reporting important results, and talking about things like CBC's, TSH's, ANA's, and HCG's. I may not do any of that for a really long time. So long actually that I forget it all. (gasp!) But, I'll tell you, this is harder and more rewarding, and more interesting, and more challenging, and more fun than any of that.