In case you were wondering
after three weeks
I still have no idea what I am doing
not one bit
but at the end of the day
the children are fed
reasonably well rested
and with at least a little fresh air in their lungs
most of the dishes are done
I have read books
and on a really good day
I might even be showered [...]
The jars are empty. The freezer is paltry.
So much for preserving the harvest.
There is always next year.
This year there is a baby sleeping on my chest and the boy who should be napping is reading to himself in bed. And there is a jar of cream in the fridge and rain outside and apple crisp [...]
I started out the week feeling like a rockstar. But then Helen moved from the stage of very-new-baby-relative-sleepiness into third-week-uncomfortable-growth-spurt which made sleeping difficult for both of us. And then today I officially fell sick and have been in bed most of the day with Helen watching Andrew Davies mini-series. Take-out pizza for dinner.
(Which all [...]
Paternity leave eventually ends, and we find our ways back into our ways- old and new. But I am ready. This morning Helen napped in her wrap while Reed and I strolled down to the banks. He likes throwing sticks in the river more than almost anything, but he still takes time to sit someplace [...]
I can’t say the day began promising. Adam had been sick the last couple days and I woke to a house that seemed wild and a husband tired and coughing (poor dear!) and a son that should have eating an hour ago, but of course there was nothing in the house. And so I tried [...]
Helen Wright Whitlock was born at dawn on Sunday after three hours of labor. Sunday August 28. 5:56 am. A thick band of pink outside the birthing room window. 18.5 inches. 7 lb 8oz.
She is as healthy as a horse, wakeful, and an excellent snuggler. We love her, and are happily settling into life at [...]
During the day, I hardly know I am pregnant. Yes, there is a belly to contend with and the occasional kick and wiggle. And of course it is nice to lie down after a short walk here or there. But that all is normal now. It requires no thought. It is just The Way My Life Is. [...]
“Do not hurry; do not rest,” said Goethe. And if I have learned one thing about life with a child, it is this: do not hurry.
Do not hurry.
Do not hurry.
Do not hurry.
And suddenly, I am comfortable. I don’t know if is because the temperature dropped or if the baby did or if I am accustom, now, to sitting funny ways and sneaking naps. But the pager number I scribbled with such urgency last week onto this page of my planner seems quaint and unnecessary. No, this [...]