Pieces of Normal

So, it's been six days now since the day our "lives changed forever." And in the middle of this transition into parenthood, Alinna and I have already been craving for normal things. I should explain.

There are a lot of changes going on. Nearly every room in our apartment has some reminder that there is a baby among us. There's a baby monitor, there's a bottle drying rack, there's a crib, there are blankets and clothes strewn here and there. Our sleep schedule is off. We have to feed baby every 2-3 hours which means that we also are awake every 2-3 hours. Feed him at 11PM, feed him at 230AM, feed him at 530AM and well whaddya know, it's morning (though it hasn't gotten light out til 7AM for all you engineers out there with flexible work hours). And then there's the time in-between each feeding. When I heard feed every 2-3 hours, at first, I was like "Sweet, I can do a lot of things in 2-3 hours." But then, I never took into account that the feedings not only include eating time but changing diaper time, calming down time, burping time, all of which well, takes time. About 45 minutes to an hour time. So that significantly cuts into the allotted 2-3 hours because the 2-3 hours is front the beginning of each feeding time. I can go into the changing of the way we think of ourselves, our new roles as parents too, but I think that's pretty self-explanatory.

All that to say, there are a lot of changes going on in a very short amount of time. And I think this is true for most people in saying that when I experience a lot of change, I want something that harkens back to the days of yore. I want something that is familiar to the time before all the change.

I remember when I was in Japan, I visited a career missionary family's home and saw that a lot of their furniture looked very American. I asked them about it and it turned out that they had bought most of it from Ikea when they were in America and had it shipped out to their address in Japan when they were assigned there. It cost a good chunk of money to ship, but for them it was worth it because it gave them something that was familiar.

I'm not saying that I want everything to go back to normal. Just little pieces of normal. Little things here and there that remind me that I'm still a person with likes and dislikes of my own. Last night, I had a pocket of time where I ate some bread and cheese (thanks Soph!) while listening to jazz. Alinna and I also had a pocket of time where we just sat on the couch relaxing (albeit while looking at the video monitor of Sam). Could we have used that time to put stuff away, clean baby things, organize baby things, etc.? Sure, but we just needed a few pieces of normal more than anything after a long day of focusing on a new life with Sam.

Oh and just for kicks...