Here you'll find current musings, as well as the archives from two blogs of yesteryear: YoungMarriedMom and What I Learned While Writing a Novel. Please comment and share. We love well when we are in conversation with one another.
Maybe it’s because I wasn’t a scout growing up that I didn’t fully appreciate the saying “Be prepared” until yesterday.
John, Jacob, and I were enjoying a sunny summer holiday in the park when John’s phone rang. Our friend, whose wife was due with their first child that day, was on the other end of the line. John and I both figured he was calling to see if we had plans for dinner. I started to calculate how many burgers we could get out of the beef we’d purchased earlier in the day, but quickly realized that wasn’t necessary (and good thing, because we had enough meat, but too few rolls!). Their little baby girl had been born just a few hours before, and he was calling to share the good news! Hooray!
He offered us the opportunity to visit, and we started packing up the instant John hung up the phone. We were so excited that I barely even thought about what we had on hand. We were in the subway station in about seven minutes. Because of other gallivanting around Brooklyn over the weekend, it turns out we had a really well packed stroller. It was rewarding to realize how much of the right stuff we had with us.
In the course of our trip into Manhattan, we managed to feed Jacob twice, nurse him once, and change his diaper, without even making a pit stop at home first. And when we did get home, because he’d had dinner on the subway, we were already halfway through our bedtime routine. It was nice to feel like I’d won the “Good Mom Award” for the day.
On the other hand, in considering how prepared one can be, I don’t think you can ever really prepare for the experience of being in the presence of an hours-old baby. This one is a perfect little girl—tiny, beautiful, and incredibly loved. When I had the chance to hold her, I didn’t want to let her go. I’ve waited so long to meet this little one, and it was such an honor to finally see her face to face.
Blessings can be great—like holding a little miracle in your arms—or small—like having a squeeze pack of puréed fruit and a spoon in a baggie in the pocket of your stroller. Whether we’re prepared for them or not, it’s good to see the many ways God is with us each day.
Congratulations Momma! When I have days like that I inevitably end up stopping at Target or CVS to pick up all the things that I DON’T have with me =) And while we’re talking about new babies…I was watching the Baby Story today on TLC and at the moment of birth started crying, kissed Zoe on the head, and just sat right in the middle of wanting another one and thinking life was absolutely perfect just the way it is right now.
That’s beautiful! Sometimes I feel that way, too. All in good time. Someday I’ll look back to tell some story, and say something like, “We only had Jacob then,” and I know it will feel totally bizarre to not have other little ones around–ones I haven’t even met yet! What a wild ride parenting is!