When His Needs Overtook Mine

I cannot be the only who… remembers that before their child was born I always needed something, a new cell phone or the latest pair of designer jeans, but it dawned on me the other morning that I no longer feel those “needs”.  I started to wonder how all the things I used to want, or disguise as needs, were no longer important, and how come I no longer daydreamed about my next trip to Nordstroms. I don’t own everything I could ever want or need but somehow I rarely feel that desire to upgrade, replace, or expand on what I already have. After some thought the only real conclusion I came to, after I gave up on the notion that I have matured into one of those people who don’t “ooh and ah” over shiny things, was that my needs are now those of my son’s.  He truly needs something on a daily basis, his pants have become too short overnight or he spilled ketchup on his last white t-shirt, there seems to be no end to his needs.

I enjoy a nice gift as much as the next girl, but now when my husband buys me something expensive in my head I am calculating how many pairs of PJ’s or new tennis shoes for our son the money spent on the gift could have purchased.  I am not sure if this new frame of mind is a form of selflessness or if I am just overwhelmed with the responsibility of fulfilling all the needs of our son that I don’t have time to think about my own, either way I cannot be the only one who has noticed this change in themselves…can I?