Every day is
something different –
sometimes scary,
and always beautiful.
You are my whole world,
my brave baby girl.
New Normal (A Poem)
(Almost) Wordless Wednesday: How’s Merlin?
He’s good.
See? All good. Cat’s, y’all. He actually seems to really like Lucy, and I think they’ll be great friends.
As for Annie, she has so far steadfastly refused to acknowledge that anything has changed. Which, I guess, could be worse? She seems just as lazy and content as ever, at any rate. Dogs, too, y’all.
What are your favorite children’s books?
I’m stocking up! We’ve got a few already, including some of my favorites from when I was little. But give me all your recommendations!
Short post today – it’s Graham’s first day back at work and things are crazy. But they’re also wonderful and fulfilling and everything just feels so new and special. How lucky we are to be parents to our beautiful Lucy Lady. 😊
Six Weeks of Lucy
Y’all. This baby.
She’s incredible.
Wednesday marked six weeks since my sweet Lady Lucy’s arrival, and we are in love and elated and tired and busy and just so, so happy.
And tired. So tired. Very tired.
But she’s worth it. Every exhausted minute of it.
Honestly, it’s so much more easy than I worried it would be. And also more challenging. And just amazing.
One of these days, I will sit down and write about this whole experience – birth and postpartum, being a new mom, learning how to care for a tiny, perfect human. But right now, I’m all about the baby snuggles.
She’s growing and changing every day. She’s making eye contact, lifting her head, grasping at our fingers, staring at Merlin (who is patiently trying to teach her exactly what human hands are for, which is petting him, of course!), listening, watching, stretching, wiggling, and just being the most fascinating little creature I have ever encountered.
I won’t overshare about her here, because I’m sure you’d all get tired of it and wonder where all the poems and short stories went. And I will get back to writing those! Soon, I hope.
But for now, more snuggles. And coffee.
This is the life.
Coming Home (A Poem)
There’s something about
writing a poem
that feels a lot like
coming home.
How lucky I am
to spin words
into roads
that lead there,
where I most want to go.
New Days (A Poem)
Cloudy sky spitting snow,
and 364 to go.
One year gone and lessons learned
as another comes to take its turn –
new and old meet at the door
and cross the threshold.
For us
(the three of us):
Hope and joy,
love and light,
a bright dawn after a lonely night
and so many happy memories already.
These are truly the new days.
May they last and linger
and spread out
endless and infinite.
She’s here!
Well, I suppose my note at the end of my last post ended up being a little prophetic, because our sweet lady Lucy Elizabeth arrived on Wednesday, November 22nd.
I suspected, through the whole pregnancy, that she’d arrive a little early.
She is perfect, and we are happy and exhausted, and whatever life was before her, now it’s so much bigger and better and brighter. She is our light, and we are going to have an amazing adventure together.
So, I’ll be taking a break from the blog for the next few weeks as I figure out this new parent thing. For how long, exactly? I’m not sure. I’ve still got plenty to write, and I’m not leaving forever. But in case I don’t come back before the new year, here’s wishing all of you a very happy holiday season and a wonderful new year! I wish you joy, love, and peace.
As for me? I’ll be over in my comfy chair, rocking a beautiful baby girl to sleep.
Thankful (A Poem)
I breathe it in,
this feeling –
light as air and
heavy as hope –
and exhale.
I wish I could share it,
box it up
and tie it with a bow,
so you could know, too.
Or maybe you do,
down in your soul,
deep in the roots
of what makes you, you –
what makes us human –
the tug and pull
and steady, sturdy seed
that keeps us whole.
I’m thankful.
Thankful.
Thankful.
*A quick note! Graham has Friday off, so I’ll be taking a break, as well. I’ll be back on Monday, unless Baby Girl decides to make an early appearance. In the meantime, for all who celebrate, I wish you a wonderful, warm Thanksgiving! I hope it’s full of love and tasty food, and that you come away with a smile and a full belly.*
The nursery’s done!
Well, mostly.
We still have a few things to organize and put away, and Merlin’s food will need to move, but otherwise, and finally, we have a nursery!
I’m so pleased with how it came out. We went back and forth about whether to put our books back on the shelves, but honestly, it makes me sort of happy that Baby Girl’s space, at least for now, will be full of books. That’s the reader and writer in me, I suppose.
And we love the wallpaper!
It’s the first time we’ve put wallpaper up in the house – well, our neighbor, who is amazing, did it for us – and I think it looks great. We definitely need a new rug, though. I ordered one that’s a little warmer and more neutral, so I hope it looks nice when it arrives. We shall see!
I know that Baby Girl will sleep in our bedroom for the first several months of her life, but it feels so good to have a room ready for her, all her own.
I just can’t wait to bring her home.
It’s Friday! (Time to finish the nursery.)
And that’s it. That’s all I’m doing with this day. It is a priority. My only priority. Unless Baby Girl makes a surprise appearance, everything else can wait.
I’m 37 weeks pregnant today. She will be here before we know it, and while she has a place to sleep – we’ve set up a bassinet in our bedroom – I want her to have her own space. I want to bring her home to a room that feels like hers. And the good news is, if we can get this chaos (it’s all her stuff, in our parlor) under control…
…we’re in a good spot to make that happen!
Her room has been painted, and it’s ready to be organized. We’ve got clothes, and they’ve been washed. We’ve got diapers. We’ve got the crib, which is so much more complicated to put together than it needs to be, and I’ve been collecting art for this space since we decided to try for a baby.
It WILL get done.
A Virginia Writer's Diary 