Happy Labor Day

My due date was yesterday and earlier in my pregnancy when I realized its proximity to today's holiday, I thought, "Wouldn't it be funny if I was in labor on Labor Day?"

Speaking of proximity of events, remember all my pondering of how close my due date was to when Grace started kindergarten? Well, it turns out that Lewis was born actually ON her first day of school, about three hours before she needed to be there, no less. What are the odds, right? In related news, I have discovered a foolproof method to avoid feeling emotional about one's oldest child leaving her preschool years behind forever and growing up-- Just have a baby! On the same day!

Seriously, I cannot summon up the least bit of lachrymose melancholy for the unstoppable passage of time and transience of childhood and all that; there is just too much else to cope with. My main feeling is one of relief that Grace did not miss her first day. I still am somewhat in awe that Rob managed it all; he went straight home from the hospital after I was settled in my post-partum room (where he had been up all night with me in labor obviously) and walked Grace to school. She had a really great first week (well, first 3 days since they started on a Wednesday) and is enamored of her status as a kindergartener and walking to school and the fun things they are doing. I am so SO glad that she is transitioning well and has this fun new adventure to embark upon.

Oh, and speaking of yet more crazy timing, Rob is currently knee-deep in studying for his allergy boards. This is kind of a big deal as he has to pass this test (and then pass it again every 10 years) to practice allergy. The test is in a handful of weeks (October? I think? I am so fuzzy on everything right now) and he is working working working in every spare moment to learn everything he is supposed to know. It kind of sucks for him because at some level he is missing out on Lewis' first days and it kind of sucks for the girls because they have one parent who is frantically working in every possible moment and one who is sort of out of commission from childbirth and taking care of a newborn and it kind of sucks for me because my main support person can't do as much as any of us would like. It kind of sucks.

What doesn't suck is getting to know this little new person who is part of our family, now that I am home from the hospital and we are all settling in and figuring out new rhythms to our life. Lewis is this perfect curled-up creature with tiny waving fingers and pink shells for ears and a little-old-man-monkey face. There is just nothing like a brand new baby. Grace is full of enthusiasm for him, wanting to hold him and touch his head and play with his fingers; she is such a nurturer. Violet, who I had more concern about, is doing very well with him too. She has a much shorter attention span for him than Grace and she doesn't really do gentle at this point but she has been very positive and happy and accepting. "The baby is sleeping," she notes. "The baby is crying," she observes with alarm. "The baby is soooooo cute," she declares with approval. And indeed he is.