Lessons Learned from Three under Three

plus, an essay on the flawed philosophy of “freebirth”

Implausibly, October is here. My eldest turned four yesterday. Dare I say that disbelief at the pace of the passing of time – whether the unbearably long days or the unfathomably short years – is a universal maternal experience. Oh, the melancholia of motherhood… the slippery seconds, the diamonds raining from the sky, the inability to catch them in your hands for longer than a moment. I love you. I love you more. Impossible.

In case you missed it, partially inspired by the anniversary of Mary Helen’s birth, I wrote an essay for my favorite publication, Fairer Disputations, on the flawed philosophy of freebirth. Would love to hear your thoughts on it.

Now that I no longer have three three and under, I thought I’d share my lessons learned from the experience, because people often ask how I manage. I don’t know if I’ll ever feel fully qualified to proffer parental wisdom. The proof of the pudding is in the eating, and my kids are underbaked. But in terms of keeping one’s sanity and smoothing day to day operations, I think I have some helpful tips to share.