Another one come and gone. I do not intend to mourn its passing, however, but to reflect on the pace of life weekends of late have inspired in our home and what that might mean into the future.
This weekend we got a few things done around here – really, our usual weekend routine:
- Changed sheets on the bed
- A few loads of laundry
- Grocery shopping
- General house clean, not super detailed but neat
This weekend also contained many delightful things (not to imply that the items above were not delightful in execution):
- Visits with two friends and some family.
- Baking cookies (yum, more ginger cookies!! Tastier than before, if stranger looking)
- Pancake breakfast at home
- Morning magazine-flipping session
- Out-time with family – part work (returns), part fun (family)
- Reading! One.5 novels thus far.
- Lots of baby time.
That last one is the reason I’d call the weekend a success. I didn’t worry about what got done or try to multi-task or ask husband to look after baby so I had some free time. Okay, I did a little. After all, I had some returns to do, needed a good shower, and had a few tasks I did with baby. But mainly, I slowed down and let myself enjoy my daughter. Boy, it was fun:
- All the new things she’s doing. Suddenly, instead of throwing off the blankets in bed, asking us to lift them up so she (and her stuffies) can squirm underneath
- Now willing for us to put clothes on her!
- Boogeying to music, especially her children’s CD. I tried this weekend to play other world music, but she kept on shaking her head vigorously “no!” at every track until I switched back. Her little bum-bum dance is awesome!
- New words and more talking! From her multi-syllable ones (gupta; mamoo); to active use of familiar ones (nana – points to the door, requesting a visit from her grandma – A’ya – points to herself); to new ones (up – “hap hap!”); to her noisy “yayaya!”, it’s a thrill listening to her
- A lovely walk outside today, toddling all over
- Nurse-o-mania: she couldn’t get enough of my boobs this weekend.
- She fell asleep in my arms for naps each day this weekend. I held her for good lengths each time. Holding that sweet, sweet girl … heaven.
3 days of shifting my focus from productivity to being and loving. Not sure how I’m getting to acceptance of the priority of experience over completion, but I’m finding it at various points.
There still are things that need doing. Need, as in our family well-being depends on them, my writing (journal articles, ha ha!!! and other writing, like the short story I dreamed this weekend that begins “I came home two weeks early for the wedding.”) which my emotional well-being and potentially future career possibilities depend on. Somehow, I’m not judging me or my husband that things didn’t get done or that we’re behind the ball on certain projects. And I can even write that sentence without freaking out about “the list”! The omnipresent, controlling list. I believe in The List, but it doesn’t have to rule my life. Somehow, this weekend I had the kind of quality time with my family, yes, and particularly my daughter, that I’ve been wanting. Cause to celebrate. And reflect.