Meandering Musings

We were lucky to have some wonderful visitors come by yesterday.  During our conversation, we spoke, briefly, playfully, about what instrument I would have Safia take up.  Certainly, it is my sincere hope that Safia grows to love music and can use it to enhance her life, and I do hold not-so-secretive ideas about which instrument she should play (mandolin - have you seen those long and slender fingers?).  But as we good naturedly planned her musical future, it did trigger in me very real consideration of her future prospects and what lies ahead.  Up until now, our thoughts have been pretty focused on survival.  Making sure she's eating well and gaining weight, scrupulously examining her every bowel movement for color and consistency, watching her sleep and making sure she's still breathing (newborns have some crazy breathing patterns), and general hyper-vigilance about everything revolving around her well-being.  But now, watching her sleep in my lap (breathing steadily), I think of the boundless potential that this tiny, adorable, breathtaking, remarkable, wondrous, poop-factory holds.  The hopes and dreams that parents have for their children: to be happy, to be healthy, to always feel safe, to be compassionate and tolerant, to be prosperous (and I don't mean monetarily), and to leave a positive mark on the world are at the forefront of my thoughts right now.  My mind is abuzz with all the possibilities, the unknown.  To want so much makes my eyes well up.  So this is what it's like to be a parent, huh?  For once it's not Safia who's crying - it's me.

photo credit: Mr. Parmer

Yesterday, we got our first drop-off of cloth diapers from the diaper service company here in Athens (All Kleen, inc).  They drop-off clean cloth diapers and pick-up the dirty ones once a week so we're in steady supply.  We figured that starting with the diaper service would be a good way to ease into the cloth diapering world.  As we hit our cloth diapering stride, we would then ween ourselves from the diaper service.  In all honesty, though, the diaper service is so inexpensive, it might be more economical (in time and money) to just use the service.  We shall see.  Safia was awake, alert, and in a wonderful mood for what seemed like an eternity yesterday.  We had a sweet front porch chillin session in the late afternoon watching the baby squirrels frolick, the cardinals court one another, and the rainbows of color from the blooming dogwoods, azaleas, and irises.  How pleasant.