Aging While Childless: Child Proofing...

My house is not child-proof.

A friend dropped by for a moment and parked her twins’ double stroller in my entry way. There they sat, strapped in, but still exuding plenty of cute grins and toddler sounds.

We turned our backs for barely a minute, and then the giggles and water splashing began, and it took me barely a second to realize what was happening. Like tiny Houdinis, the twins had twisted and wriggled and stretched their little hands out far enough to press the buttons on my nearby water dispenser. You can probably guess the rest of the soggy story.

Not having kids, I haven’t had the task of daily keeping small ones safe in a dangerous world. Well – that’s not true. I dash to do it for short spans when I have little visitors (which involves closing a lot of doors!). But it’s not a full time job.

I have the freedom of filling my home with items like candles, fragile home décor items, and cabinets that don’t need a sealing mechanism to puzzle little brains.

I know parents and guardians will tell me how much these small inconveniences are worth it. And I don’t disagree with them. But it’s freeing to have one less thing to worry about on a regular basis and to decorate my home (aka my “nest”) as I wish: it just makes things a little simpler to me. And I embrace it.

P.S. I’m never completely off the hook. I have a very curious Siamese who imagines the house his jungle gym.