Divide and Conquer

It is thought that Julius Caesar coined the phrase "Divide et impera" which is Latin for Divide and Conquer. Most likely it was a phrase he used for his military ambitions or as a means to accomplish an objective or defeat an enemy.

It's been a while since we fulfilled one of of the main criteria we had for the blog when we started it and that was for it to be a resource for new parents. We know that lately it's become a photo album for the kids. Today I thought we'd get back to our roots with some recent observations about parenthood.

Everyone has seen tons of pictures of our growing family, but we never really shared with everyone our feelings about the jump from one child to two. It all happened so fast that we really just haven't had time to reflect and collect our thoughts on it. We're too busy just trying to get by and I have a feeling it'll be that way for some time.

What spurred the new entry was an event that took place this weekend. Unbeknownst to us, it turns out that JK has an allergy to either cantaloupe or jelly doughnuts. Early Saturday AM we noticed some swelling on JK's arms and a rash. E being the worrier that she is wanted to take JK to the hospital. To be fair to E, her worry is justified because I've been known to have an allergic reaction or two and these things can be genetic.

So after a call to our pediatrician we were off to the ER. I dropped off E and JK at the entrance and proceeded to take NJ with me to park the car. They wouldn't admit NJ into the back so we just quietly sat and read every single kids book while we waited and waited. NJ and I played, we went potty (which BTW NJ is really starting to get the hang of) and we talked.

It may sound strange, but there we were acting a two entirely separate units in close proximity, but with two different missions. It may not strike any one else as strange, but I find that in order to accomplish our family goals it is some times best done as two separate teams. We share the same mission of raising our two children in a healthy, productive and loving manner, but at times it's going to require us to divide and conquer.

To use a sport's analogy it is said that when you have one child you play "double coverage" defense. When you have two children you play "man" defense and three or more kids and you have to go straight in a "zone" defense. E and I are definitely playing "Man", but will occasionally shift back into "Double" if one of them goes to sleep. If they both go down all bets are off and we go looking for the booze!

So for you parents out there who are considering a 2nd child...DON'T! Just kidding. If you're ready...go for it. The work grows exponentially, but so does the love.

Have a great week everyone!

P.S. Just to show that JK is OK I've included a few pictures from this afternoon. You can't tell by the cheeks, but the swelling has gone down. I also included one of my future lacrosse player.