Over the course of five days, the growth of that tiny newborn is surprisingly noticeable. I don't mean to suggest that she is larger, that I can tell. I mean her face has lost that squishy newborn puffiness and started looking like a real person face. She spends more time being alert, with her tiny eyebrows furrowed like she is concentrating on making important connections about the world around her. I'm not a hundred percent certain, but I think she practiced the process of smiling in genuine amusement today. I would have to look it up to know when that skill fully develops, but I had a preview of what it will look like when it happens.
When the kids bought this house, the back yard was essentially non-existent. The sunken back concrete patio had to be removed as a part of the deal, and the "lawn" was just deeply entrenched weeds. Since then, they have put in a ton of work, creating a fire pit with a ring of decorative rocks, a raised garden bed, a row of catnip, and new this year, actual grass.
We went over today to help out with their garden. We literally started as we rolled up. The Mr leaned over and pulled a weed before he even closed the car door. I tried to resist briefly, but while I waited for him to quit, I ripped out a small handful of weeds in the paver walkway. Some compulsions are contagious. We went in, and got some baby time, before moving on to jobs in the back yard, preparing the garden bed and planting some tomatoes, and digging up a handful of the more persistent mallow weed. Naturally, it was not I doing most of the heavy labor, but I did what I could for as long as I could.
And then I went back and got more baby time. Because my motivation is pretty focused these days, as it should be.
No comments:
Post a Comment