Ready, Set GO or Ready Set, NO?

When my oldest child was a little less than two years old, I decided, based on all the reading I had been doing, that it was time for him to give up his pacifier.  He loved his binky.  I mean loved it.  All three of my children loved their pacifiers, but Riley, by far, loved his the most.  I remember I put him in his crib for a nap one day and I gently laid him down without his beloved binky.  He cried and cried and cried.  I would go in and try to soothe him and then leave the room and he cried and cried and cried.  And screamed.  And gasped for air.  And he cried so hard that he literally threw up all in his crib.  So then we had not one, but two people crying, because now I had no idea what to do with this inconsolable baby plus now I had to clean the puke up.   

Guess what I did?  I gave the binky back to that baby.

And then about six more months went by and he still had that binky.  

Then our neighbors had a little baby boy.  I told Riley that baby Adam needed a binky now, so he agreed to take baby Adam his binky and that was that.  No crying, no fits, no puking. 

I have often thought back to this moment because I believe there’s a lot more to it than a baby giving up a pacifier.  There have been times in all of our lives when we try to make changes…careers, education, relationships…all sorts of things.  Sometimes we try to begin new chapters or end chapters or skip over chapters before we’re ready and things just don’t work out.  We hold onto things that we can’t seem to let go of or we let go of things that we can’t seem to hang on to.   I think because sometimes our timing isn’t right, we end up being like the baby in the crib, crying so hard that we gasp for air, then ultimately reach our breaking point. (aka Pukeville)

That doesn’t mean things will always go smoothly, even when the timing is right.  I’m sure Riley had lapses of wanting that binky back throughout the following weeks, but it wasn’t nearly as traumatic as it had been.  So if you’re trying to make changes, listen to that screaming baby inside of you.  Maybe it’s not time to let go of your binky (or change careers, or begin a new relationship or have a baby or quit your job and join the Rockettes) today.  When the timing is right, you will often find courage, strength, peace and blessings will also come along for the ride.

-lightningbug