Thursday, November 1, 2018

What I've Been Doing in the Last Year (Day 1 NaBloPoMo)

The passage of time is funny.

It's amazing to me that the same day/week/month can fly by for one person, and drag on for eternity for another, when it's exactly the same amount of seconds/hours/days.

It's amazing to me that it has been 11 months since my last post. In the last (almost) year, I have written so many blog posts in my head, that just didn't make it into the digital world. They were really good, though. Thoughtful and witty...well, you'll just have to take my word.

As I get older, I find it's harder to recall the bigger events or milestones. Instead, I find myself musing over the little details that made a much bigger impact.

Here are some little details from the last year...




December.
This was a good Christmas year - we were finally at an age where we understood what was going on (Santa was coming! He was going to leave presents!) But apparently, our child did not get the memo that you were supposed to wake up before daybreak to go and see if Santa came. Instead, our child slept in, until we finally had to wake him since we had family coming over in a hour and we needed to get ready. When he finally made his way out into the family room, he looked at the tree and presents and asked, "I think I'd like a cookie and some milk first, before I open presents."

***




March.
For me and Mr. KK, birthdays have never been about gifts. Instead, we plan an experience for the other person. Sometimes that's a fancy dinner out, sometimes – like when it's your 40th birthday – it's a surprise trip to Mexico (my favorite birthday surprise to date). And sometimes, you just have to indulge in your husband's love of beer and make the short pilgrimage to the mecca of hazy IPAs where you can wait in a long line, and then imbibe and forget all about it. BONUS: you get to bring home souvenirs!

***




April.
The time had come for our Little Mister to learn how to swim. So I signed him up for swimming lessons with the town pool. He was so excited to go swimming in the "big pool"! He couldn't wait to get his bathing suit on! We got to change in the locker room! And then, it was time to get in the pool, and our child just was NOT having it. So instead, for the first few classes, our child took swim lessons from land. We played with the noodles. Splashed the kids in the pool. And asked – the minute we left the pool – when we were coming back. And don't even get me started on the Dad who made comments to me about our son not getting in the pool; I seriously almost decked him.

***




July.
This past July marked one year since we lost our beloved fur baby, Vito. I wrote about this loss last NaBloPoMo, and I still ugly cry every time I think about our little Wonder Dog. I can't believe how conditioned we become to certain behaviors, without even realizing it. Whenever I come home, and enter the mudroom from the garage, I still scan the floor for poop. (I have to admit, if I found poop on the floor of the mudroom these days, I'd worry about the humans living in the house with me). I still listen for the clicks of his nails on the hardwood floors. And when I look under the Little Mister's chair after a meal, it's because I'm waiting for our little furry vacuum to come and clean it all up. Family and friends ask us all the time if we think we'll get another dog. And I'm sure we will. I just have to make room in my heart, where memories of Vito still occupy the part of it for loving pets.

***




September.
I celebrated the milestone of being in my new job for a year at the end of August. And what a busy year it has been! Perhaps my biggest undertaking was rebranding the company and launching an entirely new website. I haven't felt stress like this since I was in a new biz pitch in my last job. But it launched – and launched on time! – and I couldn't be more proud. It looks amazing, and it's filled with content to help people understand surrogacy, and how they could be finally be the parents they've always dreamed of.

And so here we are, November 1. Twenty nine more days of sharing for me, and twenty nine more days of reading for you.

Buckle up.

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