Just because I actively refuse to write at length about current events in this space, and have maintained that policy for seven years, one might conclude that I am disinterested in heavier topics. That is not true. I immerse myself in them nearly every waking minute of the day. I decided at the onset it was not my job to instruct my audience how to feel about the big things that happen around us. I am friends with people all over the political spectrum, and because I don't want them to push their particular brand of politics on me, I offer in return to keep most of my political opinions to myself. A few things slip through here and there, and I don't hide that I am an active, voting member of the Boulder County Democratic Party. I don't want to argue about it. I try not to preach. And I take this space as one of my few available respites from that otherwise inescapable war. I am aware of what is happening in the world. Hyper aware. I feel the rising tensions. I choose to cleanse my soul each night focusing on flowers, cats and dogs, and now... babies.
I sat with my granddaughter for four and a half hours, with the television off and only very short peeks at Twitter. It felt good. She was (is) worth my full attention. There are times when I am holding her I swear I can see the learning and growing as it occurs. She has started to study things with her eyes like she is beginning to focus and absorb visual information. I'm fairly certain she has begun to recognize me, especially when I am wearing my red-framed glasses. She really digs them. We are working on communicating, so that she doesn't have to get frustrated and screamy before I discern what she wants. I don't let her get too fussy before I switch things up, and so far, it has worked for us. I am amazed every minute we are together what a wonderful tiny human she is.
Our regular game night is slowly getting back to normal. Those of us who have been meeting in small interactions throughout most of the pandemic came together tonight, while those who have been outside of the orbit stayed online. Three households met in one room, and it was so wonderful simply to have that much. I'm fine with keeping this limit (seven adults) for a while yet. The Littlest Smith was passed around, so that no one got over tired or over heated. (She is a warm bundle of cuteness.) For all of the pregnancy, I focused on how much I was going to love having her present on game night. So far it lives up to my dreams.
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