A Ball of Confusion

Oh my what a weekend! Friday was the most perfect day, Mike declared it a "Ferris Bueller" kind of day, and while I didn't exactly play hooky, I didn't get a lot of work done. HR had his one year check-up and was declared best baby ever. Well not exactly in those words, but he's one healthy little monkey and our pediatrician was great as always. We talked with him about the merits of our different farm shares, which I guess officially makes us yuppie parents. After our appointment we went out for a long lunch and sat outside. Our little adventure eater can now add french fries to the table food he's tried and enjoyed. Now that he has almost four teeth, he seems to have developed a rather refined palate and it warms my heart to see him taking pleasure in flavors and textures. For breakfast we often share toast spread with avocado. He loved cheese ravioli on Easter. And the list of "sometimes" foods he goes wild for (ice cream, pancakes, cookies) grows every day.

Saturday we attended a charity walk and got to bop around gorgeous surroundings in beautiful weather. Spring in New England, there's really nothing more glorious. It almost makes the winters worth it. Almost.

As for the sleeping, well, after Thursday--which was by far the worst night so far in the experiment--he's consistently put himself to sleep every night. There are a few tears, but nothing major. He's really getting the hang of it. And I've watched him wake up and put himself back to sleep on the monitor. We're still plagued with the 3:30 a.m. extended wake-up, but I'm giving that one more week to see if it resolves itself before we start the middle-of-the-night sleep training. The progress, I have to say, is remarkable and undeniable.

I celebrated with back-to-back episodes AMC's The Killing, which is my new addiction. So good. And I'm also psyched now that Treme is back. It gives me a funny, full-circle feeling to watch it while the baby is in his crib asleep because I remember it started last year around the time he was born and I used to watch it during the endless feedings or when I held him as he slept because it was the only way he would sleep back then. It reminds me that even with the current frustrations, we've come so, so far. And Treme is worth it for the music alone.

Oh yeah and then that Osama Bin Laden thing happened. It's not like I don't have an opinion - I won't miss him. He was a hate-filled person who lived to cause suffering, and I can't get behind that. That won't have died with him, unfortunately. It will most likely only inspire further acts of violence in his name, it's the oldest of stories. Philosophically I have issues with revenge and eye-for-an-eye justice. But it's done, and if it brings people peace, please let it.

This is in no way disparaging to our country's military, I am grateful for them every day. And I'm not naive. It's just that in my heart, even though I know it's not the way the world works, I will never give up on peace and love, of taking care of one another instead of fighting.