Long Song Playing

As I walked through Baby Gap the other day, making my way from the far back section where we have spent the last five years searching for deep deals on little baby clothes to the big girl section where we now (suddenly?) need to search for Serena clothes, a woman walked by with two kids in a stroller. An infant was snuggled into the front section of the stroller while a young kid stood on a platform nearest the woman who was driving the stroller (their Mama, I’m guessing… but who really knows?) My first thought was, “ooh, there’s one of those Sit n’ Stand strollers I’ve been wanting to check out!” Then I realized… we hardly ever use strollers anymore. In that moment, I recognized a level-jump we’ve taken recently.

We’ve been taking level-jumps a lot lately.

Like on Easter yesterday. We all ate a healthy breakfast (just kidding, it wasn’t really that healthy at all – it’s Easter, for Goodness Sake! Grammy did make a delicious egg & sausage casserole… and we had some fruit… anyway, off track here…) then, in an unusual turn of non-obsessive management of television/food/activity on my part (wow – it was really nice to let go of that for a while… hmmm…), we sat in front of the TV and watched a TON of Clifford the Big Red Dog. Jim and I both sat down there in the living room (another unusual event – and way underindulged) – me leaning back in Grammy’s recliner with my book (Trouble by Kate Christensen – it was really good, yes) and Jim laying there watching Clifford with the girls. Then, miraculously, we both fell asleep and took a NAP! There we were, three girls not sleeping and we were napping – for like an hour! It’s astonishing, really.

Yes, Grammy was there (cleaning the kitchen, which is so wrong… ugh) but I’m pretty sure she didn’t have to do much as far as the girls were concerned expect occasionally tell them to be quieter so we could stay asleep (she is such a blessing!) The point is – it is possible to take a nap. That is new! This is a significant indicator of level-jumping in our parenting.

I’m feeling really grateful for the bits of additional freedom that we are tasting as the girls get more self-sufficient (even as my eyes tear-up a bit as I write that, thinking of them growing up…) And yet, I see pregnant women everywhere… and squishy, warm, sweet-smelling infants seem to be coming out of the woodwork and I notice that old familiar draw toward pregnancy, birthing, nursing, nose-buried-in-peach-fuzz-hair hours of cuddling.

But then I think of the strollers and the nap thing, and I get it why people get so excited about having grandkids – though not for MANY years here, of course.