Parenting is a mysterious science. Today I was confronted by the stark needs of my kids in conflict with my own desire to just have “me” time. Balance is good in everything, but I know my selfishness sometimes prevents me from engaging them at the level I need to. My philosophy is that as we get married, we are confronted with the needs of another individual, and we lose some selfishness. Then as we have 1 kid, we lose a little more – but we still have big pockets of selfishness (maybe we just move our own “stuff” around). Now with two kids, another precious someone demands time in the hitherto “my time” zones – I am confronted by my selfishness again. It’s a good thing they’re so cute! If we keep having kids – pretty soon I’ll be completely pure – no more selfshness!