School doesn’t have to be difficult or a chore. In fact, school was oh so fun this past weekend with the grandparents.
We finally set up a small table and chairs for Sophia to sit and draw with crayons. Per Dana’s advice, we got crayon rocks that Sophia adores. So far, we’re learning that drawing is done 1. on paper and 2. at a designated area.
… Perhaps a little young to make one on her own, but never too young to receive one!
I must confess, we’re not really Valentine’s Day people. First, why does anyone need a designated day to express their feelings to a beloved? Secondly, nothing seems further removed from romance than forced rituals like dinner out with price-fixe menus and the likes.
You may at this point be wondering if we even bother with a card. Indeed, we do. Hubby and I have been writing cards to one another for years and have saved most of them. Through them, we’ve can look back on the evolution of a romance. While our cards are private, the sentiment is not and is in fact, universal.
To my beloved husband: I don’t know why I am here, and I have no idea where I will be, but I am happy anywhere because I am with you. I Love You Always.
I would be lying if I said we don’t splurge on occasion. I am a firm believer that treating yourself to one nice experience on an otherwise thrifty trip can make a budget-friendly vacation seems luxurious.
Our affordable travel practices:
I know, I know… most of you are thinking that this post is about two years, too late. We didn’t decorate Sophia’s nursery before she was born. I was and still am, much to my husbands chagrin, fairly superstitious about these sorts of things. When Sophia was a few months old, we bought a crib, a dresser, a hamper and a lamp and called it a day. Now.. a good fifteen months later, I have finally gathered enough strength and energy to put further finishing touches on Sophia’s room.
I would like for the nursery to be a place where she enjoys spending time outside of her naps.
That’s right. This is not a typo. I mean it — I am thrilled to have crawled in traffic for a long while today. It snowed today. The first snow of the season and the perfect tease of nature’s wrath that may still be unlieshed. Traffic was moving slowly, the sky a pale grey cocooning us and laying a blanket of light white stuff. I turned on some tunes and without rushing, embraced the picturesque, slow drive that was inevitable.
Even though I often rush to work and rush even more to get home, the long drive affords a sometimes urgently necessary solitude to decompress and spend time alone with my thoughts. After an hour’s drive, I was in a way, refreshed getting to work and now I can’t wait to run home and let Sophia touch snow for the very first time. She is wondering what it feels like on her warm little hands, and I wonder what her reaction will be like.
Tune: Moonlight Sonata
I was never really into yoga or meditation. I couldn’t understand the appeal and didn’t think that it offered any more relaxation than a good massage. However, I have since become a believer in it. Studies and and the sage advice of many a mother have long suggested that your mood affects your baby.
I have come to enjoy the routine of putting her to sleep… rocking her (yes, I still rock her and yes, I know it is not recommended by most pediatricians) and being close to her. Every evening, we turn the lights in Sophia’s nursery down, she nuzzles her head in my arms and I start to relax as I recount the day in my head. I focus on tomorrow’s to-do’s and watch the neighborhood lights twinkle. As I recount what was done and what remains to be done, I slowly unwind, my mind wonders and suddenly I realize that some time has passed and I didn’t think of anything really, just quietly willing her to sleep, to have a good night and to rest. For whatever reason, when I let go of my planner-like self, relax and give my mind a break, I emerge from the nursery anew. It is difficult to understand how ten minutes to yourself or is it away from yourself can make such a big difference.
I must admit, I wasn’t a fan of Sesame Street before I even started watching it [with Sophia]. Having grown up in the former Soviet Union, I blissfully avoided watching this and many other (i.e. Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, Barney and Friends, etc.,). I also honestly dreaded having to watch any of those as found them to be mostly boring but alas have recently given in to Sesame Street in order to get a much needed half an hour of peace and quiet after battling the Beltway Traffic in the afternoon.
Before going on about my recent discovery, I must admit that I love the show Sex and the City. It was well done and provides ample opportunity for self-introspection about life, relationships and priorities. Anyway… much to my surprise, Sesame Street appears to have, in a very cheeky way, paid homage on Sex and the City in this episode. At first, I was baffled, and then I realized that perhaps the show’s writers realize that they can teach children about concepts while still entertaining the thousands of parents who collapse on the couch from the day’s activities coupled with fussy children, messy mealtimes and tantrums.
They used to be my SSBs (Secret Single Behaviors)… the types of things I liked to do on my own at leisure. These included reading magazines on a weekend morning in a wooden chair with my feet propped up on a neighboring chair over a bottomless cup of coffee. I am sure you have your own SSBs and like me, you don’t like to share them with anyone.
Over the last five years, my SSBs slowly became OUR SSBs and thus family rituals and we’ve gladly welcomed little Sophia into our secret (not so anymore) life. The latest ritual is cartoon time on weekend mornings. Sophia takes a bottle at 5-6am and if we’re very lucky, snoozes for an hour or so. Since we have nowhere to run on the weekends, we let her snooze with us in bed and when she wakes up, we turn on the PBS and she watches it for 15-30 minutes. Precious time for hubby and I to catch up on the news (via phone, iPad, whatever) and ease into the weekend.
You are probably thinking that I must have given up all matter of me-time, but not so. My last hold-out SSB is to take one day a year for me. I usually make that in early April, on my birthday when the weather is still crisp but the air smells of the coming spring. I wake up early in the morning, get ready and head out as if I were heading to work. Instead of heading into the office, I head into the city, settle into a coffee shop in a tony part of town and linger over a coffee or two watching people run to and fro. A trip to a museum and perhaps a lunch complete the SSB. I return home, refreshed, rejuvenated and ready for a more social environment.
Now that we’ve established that everyone has SSBs, what are yours?
