I realized this evening that this week marks the beginning of at least nine weeks where I won't be working more than four days in a week --
Week of:
May 28 -- Memorial Day, off Monday
June 4 -- Wedding in Boston, off Friday
June 11 -- Jury Duty, out of office Monday thru ?
June 18 -- RateBeer Summer Gathering in Minneapolis, off Friday
June 25 -- RateBeer Summer Gathering in Minneapolis, off Monday
July 2 -- 4th of July, off Wednesday
July 9 -- Family Vacation in Maine starts, off Friday
July 16 -- Family Vacation continued, off all week
July 23 -- Family Vacation ends, off Monday
And given that it's two months off, there's still plenty of time to plan something for the week of July 30. ;)
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Update from a Slacker
Not writing for a few days that turns into a week that becomes over three weeks leaves lots of things to tell, which makes it hard to know where to begin, and what to leave out. Emelia is crawling, is pulling herself up, eats solid food, screeches far too much, and has two bottom teeth that are plainly visible but that she never shows. She doesn't like going to bed, and often she pulls herself up to standing position in the crib and cries for us to get her. She hasn't mastered how to sit down, so at least once we've heard a thump followed by genuine screams. It begs the question of how one babyproofs a crib. The nanny is working out well -- Emelia seems very happy when we pick her up at day's end.
Work isn't as bad as I remember from before my paternity leave (which is not to say that it's good). I figure it's either because the time away served to refresh me, or the emphasis on the family helped to adjust my perspective.
May 5 was Kathy's birthday, and for the weekend around it Kathy's mom and two aunts visited. On the birthday itself, we, along with various parts of the families of three of Kathy's first cousins, went to a restaurant that's owned and run by one of the cousins. Emelia was introduced to asparagus soup, which she absolutely loved.
And we had an altogether great time, which makes me wonder why we almost never get together with these cousins despite the fact that they all live in Silver Spring, less than 30 minutes from us. I mean, I sort of know why -- Kathy isn't good at keeping in touch with people, then gets embarrassed about not keeping in touch, so she decides that she shouldn't keep in touch. Sort of.
The following weekend was Kathy's first Mothers Day. We didn't do anything amazing -- instead we met up with Shizuka (also celebrating her first Mothers Day), Eric, Kaz, and Mac (someone who went to college with Kathy and Shizuka and who was in town on business). We walked along the Mall, and enjoyed a beautiful day. Kaz and Emelia are starting to interact, but there's still not that much of it.
For a week I resumed my sporadic jogging. Two days in a row I got up early, walked to Lincoln Park, and did four laps around the park, which I estimate to be a little more than 1.5 miles. I took a day off, then went three more days in a row, the last one pushing for the fifth lap. It's not the most exciting thing to jog in circles, but it was good because I don't have to cross streets, which lets me leave my glasses at home (my vision's not wretched enough to prevent me from functioning without them in such situations, but I'd never drive or read without them). What made me stop was soreness in the joints where my feet and legs come together. It could be from jogging on bricks, as those aren't the best running surface, but whatever the cause was, I stopped nearly two weeks ago, so any increase in stamina or physical condition has long since ebbed to nothing.
May 16 was Kathy's and my 8th anniversary. Kathy ordered sushi in -- yum!!
On Thursday I got a call from Kathy, quite panicky, that Nora had bitten Emelia. (For those of you who don't know, Nora is an over sized Shih Tzu, making her all of about 18 pounds.) Emelia ended up with quite a cut just below her eye, but she's fine -- she'd be perfectly content to play with Nora again, if we'd let her. Nora has never been fully comfortable around children, with their hands that poke and grab fur. At the same time, she recognizes Emelia is part of the pack. So Nora dances between keeping her distance and getting close, especially now that Emelia is eating (and dropping) solids. We can't have Nora biting Emelia, but we also know there's no viciousness -- she just didn't like Emelia's reaching at her. We're not sure whether there's a solution, other than that if it happens again, Nora will likely end up moving to a new home, either to Kathy's parents or to Tom & Anna's.
I think that brings things near up-to-date with our lives. With luck I won't let that much time go by before my next post.
Work isn't as bad as I remember from before my paternity leave (which is not to say that it's good). I figure it's either because the time away served to refresh me, or the emphasis on the family helped to adjust my perspective.
May 5 was Kathy's birthday, and for the weekend around it Kathy's mom and two aunts visited. On the birthday itself, we, along with various parts of the families of three of Kathy's first cousins, went to a restaurant that's owned and run by one of the cousins. Emelia was introduced to asparagus soup, which she absolutely loved.And we had an altogether great time, which makes me wonder why we almost never get together with these cousins despite the fact that they all live in Silver Spring, less than 30 minutes from us. I mean, I sort of know why -- Kathy isn't good at keeping in touch with people, then gets embarrassed about not keeping in touch, so she decides that she shouldn't keep in touch. Sort of.
The following weekend was Kathy's first Mothers Day. We didn't do anything amazing -- instead we met up with Shizuka (also celebrating her first Mothers Day), Eric, Kaz, and Mac (someone who went to college with Kathy and Shizuka and who was in town on business). We walked along the Mall, and enjoyed a beautiful day. Kaz and Emelia are starting to interact, but there's still not that much of it.For a week I resumed my sporadic jogging. Two days in a row I got up early, walked to Lincoln Park, and did four laps around the park, which I estimate to be a little more than 1.5 miles. I took a day off, then went three more days in a row, the last one pushing for the fifth lap. It's not the most exciting thing to jog in circles, but it was good because I don't have to cross streets, which lets me leave my glasses at home (my vision's not wretched enough to prevent me from functioning without them in such situations, but I'd never drive or read without them). What made me stop was soreness in the joints where my feet and legs come together. It could be from jogging on bricks, as those aren't the best running surface, but whatever the cause was, I stopped nearly two weeks ago, so any increase in stamina or physical condition has long since ebbed to nothing.
May 16 was Kathy's and my 8th anniversary. Kathy ordered sushi in -- yum!!
On Thursday I got a call from Kathy, quite panicky, that Nora had bitten Emelia. (For those of you who don't know, Nora is an over sized Shih Tzu, making her all of about 18 pounds.) Emelia ended up with quite a cut just below her eye, but she's fine -- she'd be perfectly content to play with Nora again, if we'd let her. Nora has never been fully comfortable around children, with their hands that poke and grab fur. At the same time, she recognizes Emelia is part of the pack. So Nora dances between keeping her distance and getting close, especially now that Emelia is eating (and dropping) solids. We can't have Nora biting Emelia, but we also know there's no viciousness -- she just didn't like Emelia's reaching at her. We're not sure whether there's a solution, other than that if it happens again, Nora will likely end up moving to a new home, either to Kathy's parents or to Tom & Anna's.
I think that brings things near up-to-date with our lives. With luck I won't let that much time go by before my next post.
Saturday, May 05, 2007
The Transition
Wednesday was the best of times, and the worst of times. I might have had the most wonderful day yet with Emelia -- she was so interactive, and stayed in good spirits most of the day. She hit a couple of milestones as well -- in the morning, she was able to stand using her activity table for support, rather than be supported by a person; and in the afternoon she sat up on her own for the first time (as opposed to sitting when someone puts her in the proper position). I felt as close to her that day as I ever have.
When evening came, and I put her to bed, I was in tears, realizing that my paternity leave was over, and that we wouldn't have another opportunity to be alone together. I understand that we will, but it'll be a day here and there rather than the block we've had, and which made it so great. When I started paternity leave, I saw it as an opportunity to bond with my daughter, but also to avoid a workplace where I'm not very happy, to provide Kathy with the opportunity to figure out the sort of work schedule she wanted, and to keep both Kathy's and my incomes flowing for a little longer before she might reduce her hours. On Wednesday evening, all I cared about was the bond with Emelia -- none of the other reasons mattered in the slightest.
Thursday was a difficult day -- Kathy and Emelia walked me to the Metro, but that didn't make things easier. I was back at work full-time, and all I wanted to do was be home with Emelia. I think I whined about that to two dozen people in the office. When I got home Emelia was already in bed, which saddened me even more. Fortunately she woke up a little later, which meant I got to see her before I headed out to the DC United game that evening. Her smile lit me up, as it always does, but this time it did even more for me. It pointed out the obvious, that I'll still see her every day, and that doing so will still be special.
Somehow Friday it didn't hurt as much.
When evening came, and I put her to bed, I was in tears, realizing that my paternity leave was over, and that we wouldn't have another opportunity to be alone together. I understand that we will, but it'll be a day here and there rather than the block we've had, and which made it so great. When I started paternity leave, I saw it as an opportunity to bond with my daughter, but also to avoid a workplace where I'm not very happy, to provide Kathy with the opportunity to figure out the sort of work schedule she wanted, and to keep both Kathy's and my incomes flowing for a little longer before she might reduce her hours. On Wednesday evening, all I cared about was the bond with Emelia -- none of the other reasons mattered in the slightest.
Thursday was a difficult day -- Kathy and Emelia walked me to the Metro, but that didn't make things easier. I was back at work full-time, and all I wanted to do was be home with Emelia. I think I whined about that to two dozen people in the office. When I got home Emelia was already in bed, which saddened me even more. Fortunately she woke up a little later, which meant I got to see her before I headed out to the DC United game that evening. Her smile lit me up, as it always does, but this time it did even more for me. It pointed out the obvious, that I'll still see her every day, and that doing so will still be special.
Somehow Friday it didn't hurt as much.
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Good News/Bad News
Last night Emelia slept eight hours straight, easily her longest stretch at one time. Unfortunately, her night of sleep began at 5:30pm.
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