Obsessed Again

So, back at work now for a couple of weeks, and Champ is at daycare. Which, because it's all about me, means that I am running enough again to think about training and races and the like. And think about it and think about it and think about it. Ahhhhh...

More Inspiration

"It is never too late to be what you might have been."

--- George Eliot

Collecting Resources

From an essay on the works of Willis 'Bing' Davis, artist and community activist:

"For Davis, transforming the world around requires vision... Vision requires the active use of imagination --- the imagination to see value in all things as well as all persons and places. The artist teaches that each individual can develop this perceptual sensitivity through the practice of reclaiming value in discarded resources."

--- Judith Huacuja

"Marking the Past, Shaping the Present: The Art of Willis 'Bing' Davis"

On A Mild Winter's Day...

A boy and his dirt.

Got some more snow and cold yesterday but it will be gone by midweek. I have been so grateful for this warm winter, at home with new babe. And as much as Buddy loves the snow, he was very happy for the return of his "garden" (the courtyard of our apartment building). I'm just sad we don't have a real garden of our own for him, especially as he makes more and more elaborate plans for it (that he's now old enough to remember). Luckily they have gardens at school that they plant in.

A Quiet Moment

Baby sleeping (in the crib!), and all phone calls / emails / visits regarding childcare done for the week... a moment to breathe and relax.

Oh, the baby was sleeping...

Lay of the Land

Status report from the great Midwest... snow. First real snow of the season. Thick enough to be pretty (for a while), but not so thick (or icy, or blowy, or slushy) to be a huge nuisance... yet. At least not to those of us traversing it by foot. I can't speak for those who have to dig out cars or on unplowed streets, which is a perennial problem here in Chicago (not all neighborhoods receive equal attention, and yes, a mayor has been voted out in the past because of this).

Most of the visitors have left (one more trip this weekend). So I am home with the baby. Who is easy... if I am right with him at all times, including naps. When carrying him everywhere gets to be too much he will sleep in a front carrier, but that still leaves me with a limited range of motion, and an aching back. Well, this will pass quickly enough.

What I am also hoping will pass relatively quickly is his big brother's upset, expressed mostly in potty "accidents" and playing at being a baby (lying down, "crying") when faced with something he'd rather not do. Like sit at the table. Or brush his teeth. Or any one of the daily activities of life.

I hold on to two phrases I've been told... one, that as hard as this transition is for Buddy, in the end a younger brother is a gift to him as well as to us. And two, that by the time we get to next Christmas, not only will things be easier all around, but Buddy won't remember what it was ever like to not have Champ in his life.

The other thing I hope will feel easier by next Christmas is the work/childcare equation. Right now we are faced with not having a place for Champ at daycare until September. I had been scheduled to go back to work in five weeks. Uffda. So we're looking for a nanny-sharing deal, while continuing to cross our fingers that some member of The Dude's family might be able to come live with us in our already tight quarters and take care of Champ during that time. I've requested a month's additional personal leave so that we have 1) more time to find something, 2) Champ is a bit older, and 3) we have one less month of care to pay for. We have talked about what our alternatives might be... but I don't feel like giving voice to them here, not yet.

Small pleasures in my life right now... I started running again last week, which makes me very happy. I bundle Champ up and place him in The Green Monster (a ginormous "all-terrain" stroller that can pass for a running stroller if I don't go too fast) and go carefully and slowly through the neighborhood, alternating walking and jogging --- he sleeps, I get out and feel like myself, good news all around.

And I've been baking bread for church, for communion, just a plain whole wheat following a recipe from the Tassajara Bread Book. The recipe I have makes more than is needed for Sundays, so we've been enjoying the extra. It's been easy enough and successful enough that I am thinking of starting to bake bread more often, just for us. Makes me feel productive... saves some money too. Both things I need, the longer I stay home by myself.

Thankfully I do get out everyday and we have been blessed so far with a pretty mild winter. And no one is sick! (Knock wood.)

Christmas Is Coming

And my minor Advent miracle today is that the baby is sleeping in a crib. He sleeps quite a bit, actually, just usually only if he is on top of or immediately next to another person. I wasn't even trying to get him to sleep elsewhere today (since I've had such poor luck with that so far) --- I had just put him down in his favorite hanging-out spot while I used the restroom. And then noticed that it was staying oddly quiet. Woo-hoo! Although I am scheduled to meet my mother at the library in half an hour, and she has no cell phone...

I have been getting a fair bit of reading done, since that's one of the few things I can do while nursing and/or being slept on. First I read my book club selection for December, though I wasn't able to make it to the gathering. Then I got caught up with my magazines (although I have realized the New York Times is too cumbersome to attempt one-handed so have reluctantly relinquished my Sunday subscription for the time being). Since then I've had one fiction and one non-fiction book going at all times. Who knows? If I can keep from buying new books I may actually get through a sizable chunk of my unread shelf before I have to go back to work. I'm well aware that once I do return I will get very little reading for, oh, the next couple of years at least.

Of course, if he keeps up with this sleeping in a crib business I won't be reading as much either... maybe I can finally finish his quilt...

Blessings to all on this first day of Winter!