I love it when we’re cruisin’ together.

When you become a parent, things change.
And by things,
I mean everything.
Your baby is born, you hear her wail, and in that moment, the life you once knew has been traded in for something new.
And trust me, you’re trading up here,
for sure.
But still, it takes some getting used to.
You stop sleeping.
You worry about things you never could have imagined.
You get pooped on and peed on,
and learn to speak completely new languages.
Things change.
You expect them to, and they do.
And then, you adapt.
You learn.
You grow.
But, what you don’t expect, is that things just keep changing.
For instance, today we went to the baby superstore.
All of a sudden, the sections that we used to bypass, like baby spoons and interactive toys, are now crucial.
The diapers that used to be “Swaddlers” are now “Cruisers”.
The baby who used to nap for the entire 45 minute car ride, plus the 30 minute trek around the store, now looks around, bright eyed, and in need of a snooze.
Things have changed.
Tonight, we had the pleasure of celebrating the engagement of our dear friends.
This was the second time we toasted the couple, as we also gathered on the night they became engaged. This was back in January, when I waddled my nearly 7-month-pregnant self through a dark, crowded bar, in order to hug our best friends, way past my bedtime.
This evening, we drank to them once more, and marveled at how quickly the time has flown. Nothing made that more clear than seeing the baby, nestled in my arms, now just days shy of being 6 months old. The last time we celebrated, she was nestled in my womb. This time, she was being a ham, playing shy, mugging for attention. Last time, she was just an ultrasound image. This time, she was a real, actual person. Last time, she got rubs and caresses, as my friends patted my bulging belly. This time, she held hands and pulled hair and sucked on my best friend’s finger.
Things have changed so quickly.
Things have gotten so much better.
When you’re a parent, you have to be able to roll with the punches.
You have to cherish the nights when the baby sleeps 12 hours, and plow through the days when she fights her nap and fusses over everything.
Today, as I spoke to my mommom and complained about our sleepless night,
she gave me a piece of advice;
She reminded me that “Babies are not robots. Things change.”
And she’s right.
My baby may now be in “Cruisers”,
but there’s no such thing as cruise control when it comes to parenthood.
You have to always be on,
and on your toes
and on top of your game.
And, you have to try to breathe through it,
even when you get peed on
and even when you get two hours of sleep
and even when you get really, really fed up.
Because your friends get engaged,
and you get to bring your baby with you to celebrate their love,
and then you get to go home and you get to use the apples that you picked at the orchard to make fresh baby food for your daughter, because she is now eating real food
and you get to see the faces she makes with each new ingredient
and you get that food all over you,
for sure,
but you don’t care one bit,
because you’re so happy that she loved that homemade fruit puree enough to share it with you.
And you get to remember the night you squeezed into that dark, crowded bar,
as you dreamed of the day you would meet your daughter, as it still felt so far away and unimaginable.
And you get to tell your daughter the story of that night,
as you sing her to sleep.
And you get to kiss her goodnight.
And you’ll get to kiss her good morning, tomorrow.
And she will be different;
a little older,
a little bigger,
and, maybe, a little fussier.
But, no matter what, together, you’ll cruise right along, because that’s what it means to be a parent.
That’s what it means to be in love.

1 Comment
  • Ali Barcelona
    October 17, 2010

    becca i love this song and post! so insightful- miss you lots

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