"the bubble" of having kids

It's almost been 4 years of parenting for us.  Time flies when you're having kids.  It seems like a lifetime ago.  When I woke up at a normal hour.  When life was what it was.  Which is a distant memory now.  It's the bubble of having kids.  Some new parents are so caught up that they forget that life exists outside their bubble.  They're oblivious to anything other than their kids and their lives. But whatever.  Y'all know about those people.  They're the ones who talk too loud to their kids in public. They're the ones that you get stuck next to at a kiddie's bday party and have nothing to talk about.  I'm not judging.  I'm just saying.  When you lost the desire to talk about anything other than your kids, you're not interesting to talk to anymore.  Than there are the parents at the park on their phones ignoring their kids.  And the mothers who will run you over with their SUV strollers. As if you don't exist. But as soon as you're in the bubble, you're in the bubble.  Especially in Brooklyn.  People love to talk about their kids.  I get it.  They're fun. They're exciting.  They're young.  Everything is new to them. And you meet new people through your kids. Like at our daughter's gymnastic's class.

(She's the one on the left)

But I don't want to live in a bubble.  I know there are compromises when you have kids.  It's inevitable.  But it's not so black and white.  Or it doesn't have to be.  Like Bob Lefsetz says, read the "Arts" section.  Don't stop engaging with your friends when you have kids. Don't stop reading books and watching films. Don't stop going out. Don't stop going to see art and bands and doing all the cool things you did before you had kids.  Just bring them along for the ride. And remember to check your blind spot.

DZ