Becoming a good mom, one hour at a time
Peeper has found a new passion.
We were out to dinner in Seattle (at Mama’s in Belltown) this week, and Peeper was teetering on the edge of Meltdown Canyon. She had been going to sleep much later and skipping naps altogether in our few days out of town, and I was beginning to think that a sit-down dinner in a restaurant was simply asking too much. But we’d already ordered, so we made a go of it.
That’s when the music started.
My parents provided me with so much as I grew up.
They gave me the love of travel. When I was 12, my dad taught in Singapore for six months, and my half-year stay in Southeast Asia inspired my curiosity about different cultures and places.
They gave me a love of words. To hear them tell it, I read book after book (kind of like a certain toddler I know). One of my earliest memories is “writing” letters—squiggly lines across a sheet of paper—that I’d “mail” to family members. I now make my living as a writer and am so fortunate to work in my dream career.
But one thing I value over every other gift: They gave me siblings.
Even though I see rain and fog out my hotel window right now, everyone assures me that yes, I am in Texas. I left Oregon a few days ago for a business trip without kids—all on my own! (Cue the happy dance/tears.)
I’m spending most of the week in Austin for business during a regrettably cold and wet stretch (while Portland is enjoying sun and temps in the high 60s—argh!). This also marks the longest I’ve ever been away from Peeper.
I went on one business trip without kids before, and we both did fine—a fact that definitely helped me click “buy” on my plane ticket here. Peeper and I are both a little more independent now, so I figured we’d do even better this go around.
That has been mostly true. My mom is staying at our house and watches Peeper while Eric is at work. They spend a ton of time together even when I’m not hunting for vegetarian BBQ in the country’s most meat-centric state, so my absence wasn’t an enormous transition.
Still, my mom tells me that Peeper asks for me when she wakes up and calls, “Where Mama go?” when looking around my bedroom. The fact that she misses me both breaks my heart and feels like a tiny hug. (Is that weird?)
This business trip without kids has armed me with a few techniques for traveling without my sweet toddler. For parents leaving their littles at home, then, I have a few pieces of advice. Read more
Raising a toddler is typically anything but meditative. But as Peeper and I wandered the Portland Japanese Garden, the serene space nudged me toward a more Zen mindset.
When Peeper wanted to tromp across a bridge over and over and over, I savored the extra time to admire the peaceful pond. When she plopped herself down to sift gravel through her fingers, I stared at the view of Mt. Hood.
She enjoyed the garden in her way, and I enjoyed it in mine. See: Visiting the Portland Japanese Garden was a lovely, restorative experience.
In 2015, members of a bunch of Portland-area attractions can see the others in the alliance throughout the year. (Here’s a month-by-month breakdown of where you can go when.) We are members of the Oregon Zoo, so I wanted to check out January’s attraction—hence our adventure to the Portland Japanese Garden. Read more
Today I’m headed up to Seattle for a brief business trip—without Peeper. I’ve never been away from her for a night, and now that she’s almost 16 months old, I bit the bullet and scheduled this overdue outing.
I don’t know how it’ll go. I’ve been imagining two scenarios:
1. I take an uninterrupted bath, order room service, lounge around the hotel room in a cushy robe and watch cable.
2. I cry uncontrollably, Skype with my husband so I can see Peeper sleep on the baby monitor and go to my meetings with puffy eyes and an emotional hangover.
Thanks to some strange timing, today’s trip is a trial run. My sisters, brother and I are converging on Santa Fe for an unprecedented siblings weekend, so I’ll be spending three days away from her then, too.
I’m already feeling the guilt at leaving her, and I’m still at home. This’ll be hard—but hopefully rewarding, recharging and fun, too.
Wish us all luck.
Summer in Oregon is pretty much the best time/place combo I can think of. With the state’s beautiful weather, easy access to swimming holes and unbeatable hot-weather harvests, it’s no wonder we get a ton of visitors this time of year.
It’s just mid-August and a slew of family members from afar have made the summer even more wonderfully full.
Eric’s parents drove their mini-RV out from Michigan. They hadn’t seen Peeper since January, so she was quite a bit different! They witnessed her first solid food then; this go around, they joined us for her first camping trip. We also visited the zoo, though Peeper was more interested in playing with leaves and bark chips than watching the animals. And we captured a rare moment: Peeper with all four of her grandparents.
My brother, aka Uncle Fuzzy, jetted out to surprise a friend for a camping bachelor party. Thankfully he had a few days to hang with Peeper, too. We went berry picking and played at the park, but the highlights were tickle fights and roughhousing at home. Even better: Uncle Fuzzy will be out later this summer, too!
My sister from another mister Monica and her son T joined us for Peeper’s birthday celebration in Welches. We discovered an island along the Old Salmon River Trail and plotted a camping trip at the secret spot. T pretended to fish in the creek, and Peeper pointed at the water a whole lot.
My younger sister and her husband moved from Berkeley to Seattle this summer. Now that they live much closer, that means more games of chase and high fives lessons for Peeper.
We also visited Mr. T for his big 4th birthday party. He loved his superhero costume (which I ordered from the Etsy shop Fun Kidz Stuff) and his alien-themed party in the park. I enjoy eating blue-frosted cupcakes and wearing bobble alien headbands as much as the next guy. But most of all I loved being with those I care about.
Have you had family visitors this summer? What parts of your town or state do you show off?
The last month was an eventful one for our family. We traveled to New York and then to the Bahamas, marking Peeper’s first plane rides and her first passport stamp. She also went swimming for the first time, took her first subway ride and met some dinosaurs.
“After all, what’s better than love?”
“Waaah!”
Edith waited for the perfect timing to yell during our friends’ wedding ceremony. She, apparently, can think of several things better than love: milk, naps, milk, boobs, milk. At least she didn’t pipe up when the officiant asked if anyone objected to the marriage.
Our good friends James and Laura got married two weeks ago in New York, and we were lucky enough to be able to join them for the celebration.
We recently returned from an epic vacation. We first flew to New York for a friend’s wedding then hopped down to Cat Island, The Bahamas for my brother’s wedding. We took Edie to the Museum of Natural History, into the pool for her first time, into the ocean for a few tearful moments and across her first international border.
But the memories we’ll most cherish are the ones made spending time with family.
The day started inauspiciously. I couldn’t get back to sleep after Peeper’s 3am feeding, my head was pounding and I spent a good chunk of the morning hovering over the toilet and trying not to throw up. (No, I’m not pregnant.) It was as if the universe was telling me, “Good luck flying with an infant today!”
Eric peeked his head into the bathroom. “Should I look into rescheduling?” he asked.
I shook my head. We were getting to New York, no matter how many barf bags I had to use.
