A Weekend Away

As our trip to Charlottesville, VA approached I became overwhelmed with anxiety over leaving Bradford for the first time. I had never been away from him for more than a few hours and never over night. This trip required three days and three nights at a distance of six hours away: not a good type of trip to be the first one away from our baby.

I never doubted that Bradford would be in good hands. I knew Grandma and Grandpa would take really good care of him and even spoil him. I just didn’t want to leave him. He is my wake-up call every morning and my little bundle of joy.

I only teared up three times, yet I think I must have looked at every picture of him on my laptop including some videos and called to check up on him and hear his voice three times a day. A little overboard?  Probably. But, I survived, and we had a good trip.

I had forgotten what it was like to stay out late, to wake up when I want to, and to eat a full meal in peace and quiet.  I also enjoyed all my grown-up conversations with Eliot and our friends.

We stayed at a little house surrounded by a beautiful mountain view and even a lake (they called it a lake, but it looked more like a pond).  The décor of the house looked like something out of Restoration Hardware and it even came complete with a ping pong table. So, of course ping pong games were part of the daily agenda. I thought I was pretty good. Anna, however, humbled me. I still blame my ping pong losses on her 120 pound Great Dane that kept bumping into me as I played.  Sophia just wanted to be a part of the game I suppose.

 

The entire purpose of the trip was for Eliot and his friend to attend the Federalist Society conference. While the guys attended panels and symposiums, Anna and I shopped. While I say “shopped,” I really mean window-shopped. Shopping with a budget of $2.50 was a little hard. We did tour the “famous” Pedestrian Mall in down town Charlottesville and then attempted to find a real mall. Instead, we just found another outdoor shopping center, but at least this one had normal stores that we had heard of before.

Now, this was a short trip, so we took advantage of our drive home and turned it into a sight-seeing, educational time. Eliot took me to the Rotunda (designed by Thomas Jefferson), Monticello  (Thomas Jefferson’s home), and even the Appomattox Courthouse (where the surrender of the Civil War took place).  Therefore, Bradford’s souvenir from our trip was a children’s book about Thomas Jefferson.  I wonder if he will love history as much as his father.  

 

The Rotunda

Appomattox Courthouse

Statue of Thomas Jefferson

As we got closer and closer to Columbia we began counting down the miles and minutes until we got to see Bradford. When we pulled up into the parking lot of the restaurant where we were meeting my family and Bradford; I jumped out of the car and ran inside to see him. He, however, did not seem as excited to see me. Sadly, he looked at me as if he didn’t know me. When I held him, he reached for my parents. It was heart breaking. I guess that is my punishment for leaving him. Therefore, I will never leave Bradford again…well, not in the near future at least.

   

My Job

Ever since Bradford was born, I just knew I couldn’t return to an 8-5 job. I couldn’t bear the thought of leaving my little man. I couldn’t bear the thought of missing his first moments. Thankfully, I have a husband who felt the same way. We thought it would be best if I stayed home to raise our son. So, I did. 

Of course, this meant that for eight months we would have no income whatsoever due to Eliot still being in law school. I didn’t know how we would make it, but the Lord provided. He took a small pot of money and made it last until Eliot started his first law job. Not only did we survive financially over those eight months without an income, we also bought a house. There is no way you can look at our situation and not see that God is in control. God has always been in control, protecting us and providing for us. So, we moved from our tiny one bedroom apartment downtown into our four bedroom home in Forest Lake. 

Eliot is working now, but I still felt the need to work. However, it had to be a job that I could do from our home, with a baby. Several people made suggestions, but one rang clear. I decided to keep another child in our home. It would be great training for me and I was sure Bradford would love the company. At first, I kept an 18 month old a few mornings each week, for a few months. It was a good first step into the job. Then, I landed the opportunity of keeping another baby boy, the same age as Bradford, three days a week from 8-5. These days are long: twice as many diapers, twice as many mouths to feed, twice as many messes to clean up and twice as many babies to chase around the house. However, when they are playing together, I am reminded of why I chose to do this. Bradford loves it. He loves having a friend to play with and it is so cute to watch them interact. I hope that this experience will help him adjust to having a sibling in August! 

A Quarter of a Century

Well, first trimester is over. However, the morning sickness and fatigue decided to stick around. I am just thankful that this pregnancy seems to be treating me a little easier than my pregnancy with Bradford. But, that could be because I am not working (outside of the home) and I am currently getting about 11 hours of sleep each night. Yes, I said ELEVEN hours of sleep each night. My poor husband has to rush home from work and the gym, in hopes that I will still be awake. It is pretty sad. There is just something about rocking Bradford to sleep in a dark room that makes me want to go to bed myself.

My birthday was on Friday (2/4) and I turned a quarter of a century. I am 25. I look back over the years and am astonished at the point of life I am already in. I graduated college at 21 and two weeks later married my husband. I worked for three years as an exercise physiologist. That career ended the day Bradford was born. Ever since that day, I have been a stay-at-home mom. I love every single minute I get to spend with my little man. Bradford adds so much joy to my already joyful life. I used to wonder how I could love another baby as much as I love Bradford, but I do. I love this baby in my belly so much and I look forward to the day I get to meet him/her.

People ask me if I want a boy or a girl. Well, I want both, but not at the same time. I want a brother for Bradford. I want him to have a best friend who he can play sports with, wrestle with, and share a room with. Yet, I want a little girl, a little sister for Bradford. I want to buy pink clothes, fix her hair, buy her jewelry, bake together, and send her on daddy/daughter dates with Eliot. I want to teach Bradford how to treat a lady, using his sister as our in home model. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind. So, I can’t pick which one I want the most. Thank goodness I don’t have to. God has all that taken care of.

 I feel lucky. I have both brothers (2) and a sister. I want that for Bradford and hopefully he will get that…with time.  I am currently 14 weeks pregnant, so we must wait another six weeks before we know which one it will be.