When you have friends with kids older than your own, it’s hard not to constantly be looking forward, excited for the day when she too will be able to reach her arms up toward you with desire and anticipation–hell, right now I’m eager for the day she’ll have enough muscle control to stop slapping herself in the face. But that’s a problem I’ve had in most/all walks of life: looking ahead instead of appreciating the now. So some of the resounding advice I’ve received recently has certainly struck a chord with me: appreciate the portability of the two-and-a-half-month-old child.
I hadn’t considered the ease of going place to place with our young infant. Every time Ari and I leave the house together feels like a traumatic event. I dread the 15 minutes before departure spent trying to gather what we need, all the while Ari is making her discontentment known, that I’m we rarely leave the house. But now she’s robust enough for her carrier, she’s developed (had forced upon her) some immunity, and I think our recent trip to Charlottesville has given us more practice in the ways of carting infants to and from. I’m determined to make greater efforts to not be couch bums. We will attempt to leave the house at least once a day, tears and frustrations (much more mine than Ari’s) be damned!
On New Year’s Eve we took care of all the errands! Then Julie was kind enough to let us bring Ari out to her New Years bash–oh what fun it is to have real adult conversation while sipping on crazy strong cocktails and still be able to see the look in your kid’s eye when she sees fireworks for the first time!
On New Year’s Day we were hungover and decidedly less ambitious, and a stroll around Haverford and the neighboring strip malls (see below…I probably chose the least scenic location at which to snap a picture) more than met our quota:
(Notice me looking like a tool with a headset in place.)
So confused and tuckered out post-walk, tangled in said carrier because mom hasn’t figured out how to properly remove baby:
anna in med school 