It is difficult to believe that Yuki is now officially six months old. I don’t remember the last time we referred to her age in “weeks”. Come to think of it, I don’t remember much of anything, which panics me a bit.
clearly, Yuki is also in a panic.
A mother at my theatre told me that “the days are long, but years fly by.” Well, we haven’t had years yet, but months sure fly by. We recently looked at photos from the first couple of months and couldn’t believe how frail Yuki seemed and how big all of her clothes were. We have now turned over all of the clothes in her closet. As I nurse my pulled shoulder and my ongoing back problems from carrying her, I am trying to remember when I was able to put her in a sling and she would just sack out while I cooked dinner. And this was only five months ago. While we are still trying to figure things out, we at least have a routine. Yuki is part of our family. Our friends and colleagues know her.
Most importantly, the dog has now accepted Yuki into the pack and has learned not to touch Yuki’s toys (which is kind of impressive given the number of similar toys they have, and often they all end up on the floor together) and only occasionally licks her face clean when she walks by.
sisters, sisters,
there were never such devoted sisters
Everything has changed, but then again, a lot of things are just the same. Especially now that Yuki goes to bed by 8:00 pm. We have our old routine back in the evening. Philip still gets his comic books on Wednesdays, I still TiVo way too many TV shows. I do get up earlier, however. That is a big change.
I have noticed that my nerves are a little raw since April 22nd. I can no longer watch violent TV shows or movies, particularly when the violence is against girls or women (so long 80% of all television dramas!), I have more bad dreams than I ever had before and sometimes I get lost in intense thoughts about mortality. On the flip side, I now LOVE babies (I loved them before but I really do now), and have newfound respect for parents. All of them. Because I work with kids, I also work with parents. Over the years I have never pretended to know what it must be like to have a child. I knew in my head that working with children is very different from having children. While educators have the expertise, parents have the most intense connection. All of that proved to be correct but in a very humbling way. I look around at these parents and just want to hug them for doing a good job. Not only are their kids alive but they seem to be well fed, clothed, educated, they’re nice, and some of them are even funny.
Last Saturday, as I stumbled into class after having only three hours of sleep, I wanted to tell my teenagers to go home and hug their parents. I thought of it but forgot to say it because I was too tired.
I can’t remember the last time I had this much to learn in six months. And I am a better person for it. None of the hardships we went through to get Yuki matter now. And even when she wakes up in the middle of the night screaming and doesn’t go back to sleep, I don’t care, because there are people who don’t have this-and for so long, I was one of them. OK, I might care a little when she starts to mouth off but that’s later. I think it was actually good that we had her this late in our lives and in our marriage. Philip and I have been together now for more than 11 years and our teamwork is good. Sure, we get cranky, but we know how to work together. These past six months have confirmed that.
And I have a daughter! I am still not used to that idea, but there she is. It’s the best when we spend our morning rolling around in bed together. I’m going to enjoy that before she can’t stand me anymore.
just don't forget who got you your first modeling gig, kid
Here is to many more six months!
clearly, Yuki is also in a panic.A mother at my theatre told me that “the days are long, but years fly by.” Well, we haven’t had years yet, but months sure fly by. We recently looked at photos from the first couple of months and couldn’t believe how frail Yuki seemed and how big all of her clothes were. We have now turned over all of the clothes in her closet. As I nurse my pulled shoulder and my ongoing back problems from carrying her, I am trying to remember when I was able to put her in a sling and she would just sack out while I cooked dinner. And this was only five months ago. While we are still trying to figure things out, we at least have a routine. Yuki is part of our family. Our friends and colleagues know her.
Most importantly, the dog has now accepted Yuki into the pack and has learned not to touch Yuki’s toys (which is kind of impressive given the number of similar toys they have, and often they all end up on the floor together) and only occasionally licks her face clean when she walks by.
sisters, sisters,there were never such devoted sisters
Everything has changed, but then again, a lot of things are just the same. Especially now that Yuki goes to bed by 8:00 pm. We have our old routine back in the evening. Philip still gets his comic books on Wednesdays, I still TiVo way too many TV shows. I do get up earlier, however. That is a big change.
I have noticed that my nerves are a little raw since April 22nd. I can no longer watch violent TV shows or movies, particularly when the violence is against girls or women (so long 80% of all television dramas!), I have more bad dreams than I ever had before and sometimes I get lost in intense thoughts about mortality. On the flip side, I now LOVE babies (I loved them before but I really do now), and have newfound respect for parents. All of them. Because I work with kids, I also work with parents. Over the years I have never pretended to know what it must be like to have a child. I knew in my head that working with children is very different from having children. While educators have the expertise, parents have the most intense connection. All of that proved to be correct but in a very humbling way. I look around at these parents and just want to hug them for doing a good job. Not only are their kids alive but they seem to be well fed, clothed, educated, they’re nice, and some of them are even funny.
Last Saturday, as I stumbled into class after having only three hours of sleep, I wanted to tell my teenagers to go home and hug their parents. I thought of it but forgot to say it because I was too tired.
I can’t remember the last time I had this much to learn in six months. And I am a better person for it. None of the hardships we went through to get Yuki matter now. And even when she wakes up in the middle of the night screaming and doesn’t go back to sleep, I don’t care, because there are people who don’t have this-and for so long, I was one of them. OK, I might care a little when she starts to mouth off but that’s later. I think it was actually good that we had her this late in our lives and in our marriage. Philip and I have been together now for more than 11 years and our teamwork is good. Sure, we get cranky, but we know how to work together. These past six months have confirmed that.
we are also good at not working together, as evidenced by the exciting array of stuff on or around our kitchen table
And I have a daughter! I am still not used to that idea, but there she is. It’s the best when we spend our morning rolling around in bed together. I’m going to enjoy that before she can’t stand me anymore.
just don't forget who got you your first modeling gig, kidHere is to many more six months!
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~Litza