At nearly eight years old, Nora buckles her own seatbelt and wipes her own bottom. She gets herself dressed and she can even make a mean batch of scrambled eggs (the secret, she will tell you, is that if they look done in the pan, they will be overcooked by the time they get to your plate. Thank you, Alton Brown.)
All of this blossoming independence has made it possible for me to have more time for doing my own thing again. I can write, knit, go to brunch with other moms.
Ben too. Nora has a little table in his shop with water color paper and paints. She sits out there while he tinkers in his shop, building a bike frame.
We can leave the house on a whim, with only a simple, “Nora, get your shoes on!”
All that is about to change.
The cadence of life is about to change.
There will be diapers to change, a tiny mouth to feed and then feed again. Naps to take.
Leaving the house will once again require forty minutes of preparation only to be delayed due to a feeding.
C’est la vie.
I’m attempting to mentally prepare for this change. I’m reminding myself of all the places where we’ll simply slow down. And it doesn’t need to be frustrating.
The price we pay in convenience will be repaid in the smell of a new born baby and the many firsts to come. The first time she smiles, finds her feet, flips over.
Firsts we will be able to appreciate all the more through the eyes of Nora, who will get the chance to be a big sister.
Bring on the slow down.
—
This week I’m doing the #YourTurnChallenge. One blog post a day for seven days. Today is Day 7. Woot!