"One day, you'll understand."

I cannot even begin to estimate the number of times my mother said this to me growing up.  The reasons ranged from my teenage, punk-ass self saying, "How is the house still a mess when you stay at home all day?" to my pre-teen years, "I don't think I'll ever want to french kiss someone, that seems disgusting." Now, almost 30 years and 3 kids later.  I understand.

I now see, that I will NEVER catch up on laundry. And I have been ever-so-tempted to load up the minivan and head to the laundromat, like we did every once in a while as children. I see that someone is always hungry, and always needs something, so there are always dishes to do, and something else that needs to be done at the same time. I understand why the cabinets were scarce at times, and why some grocery trips require more than one cart.  Not because of cost, necessarily (though, phew, 2 little boys eat A LOT), but more because of lack of time to get to the store!

I understand why bikes were left out of the garage. Why we were always running late. Why home improvement projects were started early in one calendar year and not finished until well into the next. Why some days you just have to sit, and drink coffee with a friend and ignore all the things you are neglecting by taking this moment to yourself. I understand why the oldest child has a full, organized, complete, thorough, perfect photo album and baby book, and the subsequent childrens' albums become sparser with each addition.

I now see why my mother would give the same replies, to the same questions over and over, despite the visible frustration given by the child.  I remember thinking, just give me a REAL answer! Saying "Sorry, Charlie" in response to a complaint, or "I'm Michelle, nice to meet you" in response to "I'm hungry" was done both because of exhaustion by hearing the same question for the 48th time, that hour, and because it's just kind of funny to watch your little one get so bent out of shape from one little sentence.

And, obviously, I now understand why a girl might want to french kiss a boy. And, I also understand why she might, well, like I said earlier, and 3 kids later...

I now understand, that though I pride myself in being particular skilled in objectivism, I still have lessons to learn, and life to experience.  I will continue to be told "one day, you'll understand".  And, someday soon, I will be repeating the same lament to my own stubborn, know-it-all, out-spoken, arrogant child - if I ever have one like that...