Role Reversal

With the end of the school year has come a switch in the routine in our house. So far the transition to me being at home and taking care of Lydia and Robin working full-time has gone well. Robin has had enough going on at work that he was ready for this switch awhile ago, and I have been eager to be home more. I am enjoying having more energy to contribute at home--thank goodness for a teacher's schedule.

Lydia and I have settled into a great routine. She is still in daycare two days a week, so on those days, I run errands, go to yoga, meet friends, and enjoy some much needed free time that I have been craving since, oh, March 2009. When she is home, we have settled into a nice groove of breakfast, going for a morning walk/run, taking a morning nap (while I clean up the house, take a shower, and get ready for the day), having lunch and taking a fun outing to the pool, library, or children's museum, coming home for an afternoon nap, my designated do-nothing-to-my-heart's-content time. I read, nap, watch trashy TV, nibble on snacks. It is good. Once Lydia wakes up, we run to the grocery store for dinner ingredients. It's a rough life, I tell you.

I can't help but compare this summer to this same time last year. While we did have Spring together, Lydia was so little that we were really in survival mode. Comparing her now to her at 12 weeks is just night and day. There are some parents who will tell you how much they miss their children as infants, how they wish they could go back. Maybe with time I will hit that point, but for now, I am totally in the "It Just Gets Better and Better" camp as opposed to the "Just Wait Until..." camp. (Say this in a threatening voice, usually following some sort of profession of parenting joy and contentment, and you will know what I mean.) Lydia can play now, she interacts, she expresses happiness and love. We are having so much fun.