It wasn't exactly what I had planned...

It's been quite a year! 365 days ago, I was on my way back from a family beach vacation, headed toward full-time Grammie-hood. I didn't quite know what I was in for!

I'd spent the last nine years in an empty nest with a very full schedule. Jobs, volunteer work, husband, family, friends, and travel all beckoned. Suddenly, I found myself at home all day with a four-month-old infant. Life as I knew it screeched to a halt. My world narrowed to four walls and a very demanding little girl.

My part-time work as a Christian Educator was accomplished from home phone and computer in fifteen minute increments, while I took a crash refresher course in what it was like to have an infant as a supervisor. And she was GOOD at it.

Slowly, over the last twelve months, we have developed a rhythm. So much has changed. Natalie and I now share supervisory roles. My paying job became easier as she got old enough for a mother's morning out program. I could actually work from my office, and found out just how much can be accomplished when a baby isn't around. Natalie started taking longer, more regular naps, and has graduated to one LONG nap a day. I can get a lot done in three hours! We have gone from bottles to baby food to real food. We've moved from lying swaddled in an infant seat to sitting to crawling to walking and running. Natalie may take a long nap, but she is far from still when she's awake. I don't sit still much either.

I resigned from my job at the church a few months ago. I miss that work, but know that I am doing exactly what I should be doing right now. It doesn't pay well -- ok, it doesn't pay at all -- but when those little arms reach for me, and those big blue eyes light up when she sees me... Do I really need to explain further?

So I spend my days reading board books, pushing a stroller through the neighborhood, watching Mickey Mouse, playing with blocks, and supervising as Natalie plays outside. My friends have jobs, work out, go out for lunch together, meet for book clubs, and have grown-up conversations. I challenge you to try doing any of that with a sixteen-month-old in tow.

So Natalie and I begin the next year together... and I hear her waking up to get started!