Thursday, February 2, 2012

Baba November

Zora,

Keeping up with the telling of your story is hard! Days are full now that I am back at work and it feels as if there is hardly a moment to do anything such as write here in this blog. In choosing between being WITH you or writing ABOUT you, the choice is clear. So, it's been weeks and weeks since I wrote. I started this entry long ago---it is the story of how we spent November----and am just now finishing it weeks and weeks later.

Zora, as I travel through this life, it is clear to me that families, are, well, pretty full of contradiction. Families have imperfections-----there are some characters you might like a whole lot and then some characters that you'd prefer not to have as neighbors! As I think about the familial "container" that you'll grow up in, my hope and intention is that you grow to love us, your Mama and Papa, and that you grow to love your extended family, as contradictory and imperfect as it is. And my intention is also to be honest with you, as much as is appropriate for each age and stage that you pass through, about who's who in this family. What do I mean, Zora? I mean, let's let love abound. And, at the same time, let us practice acceptance (humor may be necessary along the way!) about what might not be ideal in the family story.

Here's what I'm really trying to say: the narrative that I want to share with you about family is that you, Zora, are surrounded by love. Example? Baba November......

Our first "nanny plan" fell through. I was scheduled to return to work in October, but the situation we'd mapped out ---to share a nanny with another family---did not work. Not at all! While it was momentarily stressful for Papa and I to figure out what to do, you, my little Zora, were blessed to have a very loving grandmother step in to save the day. She came for the WHOLE month of November to be your nanny. (Actually, you have TWO loving grandmothers who stepped in to save the day.....Baba November was followed by Nana December!)

Zora, Baba loves you. She loves you very much.

At 6 months of age, it was pretty intensive work to take care of you. You were learning to be a bit more self-sufficient, but taking care of you was really a very very full-time endeavor. You liked to have constant companionship and attention. You were learning to sit up without help. You made gobs of adorable noises. You loved to reach and grab and explore. You were learning to eat solid food. You were beginning to love music and books. You loved to be held, to go out for walks, and you were a good sleeper, though it was still a good bit of work sometimes to coax you into your naps. Your Baba, who loves you beyond words, did all of these things with you and for you for all of November. What a gift. What a gift to have the two of you get to know each other so well. What a win-win-win situation! Baba got to reside in Zoraland, Mama got to go back to work and not worry about her precious Zora, and Zora got to soak up the bountiful love of her Baba.





Like everyone, we have some imperfections in the family mix. This, however, has been an exquisite moment in Zoraland. Baba November. We will not forget it.

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