We Were Here First

We're packing up to move, and in the process, I keep finding old books that I had forgotten about but that I love.  It makes packing take a long time because I tend to sit down and read the books instead of pack them away.  It's like cleaning up my room when I was a kid all over again.  (Mom, cue in anytime here.) 

Anyway, I found one of my "beside" books when I was packing up my room - you know, one of those books you just leave by the side of the bed to flip through when you're trying to go to sleep.  It's like a coffee table book except more tuned to your personal tastes.  (Yes, I do have one on the history of England.) 

This particular book is a collection of one of my favorite comic strips, Baby Blues.  Baby Blues has been hilarious to me for years, but - much like Up a Family Tree - it became especially near and dear to my heart after the children arrived.  The parents of the strip, Wanda and Darryl, have three small children.  She stays at home while he works.  The gags of the strip surround their attempts to juggle trying to have an adult life with raising their three small ones. 

With a 7 year old, a 6 year old, and a 3 year old, is it any wonder this is one of my favorite comics?

The collection I found is entitled We Were There First, and it focuses on the trials of "couplehood" when you have small children running around.  Wanda and Darryl are pictured on the cover of the book hiding in the closet with a candle and two wine glasses in a desperate attempt to get some alone time.   While my husband and I have not resorted to this (mostly because we don't have closets and don't like wine), we can definitely identify with trying to have a "couple" life along with a "parental" life.  Rick Kirkman and Jerry Scott, the authors of the strip, have always managed to show a real appreciation for the joys and loves of parenting while being able to point out some of the irony and ridiculousness that comes along the way. 

Such as:
- Rejoicing when you finally get to go away for the weekend with your spouse, only to rush into the hotel room in a grand hurry to email the kids, whom you miss terribly
- The wife arguing with the GPS in the mini-van ("who are you going to believe?")
- The conversations you want to have with your spouse but never get around to having because of all the interruptions
- The despair that comes to a household when the washer and dryer kick the bucket
- SCHEDULES
- And the 6 things you learn after having kids ("#3: Free time is anything but that," also known as paying the baby-sitter)

Parenting is an adventure.  It is full of tears, joy, and laughter.  And if you don't learn to laugh, there are far too many tears.  I would not give up my life as a mom for anything - but that doesn't mean it isn't great to flip through a book of comics and laugh, knowing there are others experiencing the same thing you are out there. 

P.S. If you want to read the strip on a daily basis, you can find it on this link.  I read it every day!

Rating:3 out of 5 stars
What I'm Reading Now: Actually, not sure.  There are so many possibilities.  So on to the Top 5.
Top 5 TBR:
1. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
2. Shooting Victoria by Paul Thomas Murphy
3. A Prophetic Calendar by Jill Shannon
4. Forgotten God by Francis Chan
5. The Lightening Thief by Rick Riordian