Well, I think it goes without saying that there are many reasons why we haven't updated our blog for awhile.
So much is happening so fast, and I'm not used to so many things going my way at one time! Bill & celebrated 5 years of marriage and I turned 28. Then,
OUR city takes the World Championship of baseball and OVER A MILLION people take to the streets to celebrate- what an amazing thing to be a part of. Just a handful of days later,
OUR choice for president is elected in the most historic political event of Bill & I's lifetime. Billions of people around the entire
world erupt around us in celebration! (Okay, so I know not
everyone was celebrating...) It feels like such a whirlwind.
But mostly, I haven't updated because I've just been sticking to my resolution to concentrate more on life around me and less on
life-sucking things like this computer. I have managed to pay my bills, manage my email, send most of you some pictures, and visit a few blogs, but I have kept it all to a minimum. Plus, fall is my absolute favorite season and I couldn't be enjoying it any more this year.
There are many ups and downs on the road to having kids. Rediscovering life is one of the
very best things about having a child. I have experienced what has been my favorite season for my entire life in a whole new way this year. The crunching of leaves under your feet, the smells of bonfires in the air, watching huge flocks of birds fly above you as they begin their migrations, cheering for your team at a big game, picking apples from a tree... It's as if we are experiencing them all for the first time ourselves as we watch the wonder in Braden's eyes over his first autumn experiences.
Sometimes I fear that people must get tired of hearing me go on and on about my baby, and sometimes it bothers me that people might look at me now and only think of me as a mom, but I have to say, the joy that Braden has brought to my life is indescribable. Times like now make me realize that I can't regret a second of my life with him, or making the most out of every single moment with him. He teaches me every day to enjoy very ordinary things, laugh at the simple stuff, and approach the most mundane task with gusto.
I don't like it when people ask me, "Can you even imagine life without him?" People immediately expect you to say no. But guess what? My answer is yes! I
can imagine life without him! It wasn't so long ago that he came along that I've forgotten what it was like to not be a mom. He hasn't taken over my whole being so much so that I can't even remember the past. I remember it. If I shut my eyes long enough, I can picture it. Life was good.
Really good. Bill & I had a lot of fun together, just him and me. It was freedom...
Life now is full of responsibility. I can understand why many people my age would be turned off by all the responsibility. We are, after all, 100% responsible for someone else's life! But I can honestly say I have found
true joy in this responsibility- a much, much deeper joy than I ever experienced in my "free" life. And every night before I lay him down in his crib, I kiss Braden on the forehead and thank him for giving me a life now filled with such unspeakable joy.
Thank you, Braden, for making
this fall the most wonderful one of them all!
(Pictures soon to follow)
Now, come on, Obama, don't let us down...
