Monday, November 02, 2009

Time

People complaining about the number of hours they are working is truly boring, so I won't go into detail. I'll just say I'm teaching a total of 23 credit hours between various colleges, and it's unfortunate that I'm an English teacher so I always have thousands of papers to grade.
Still, as time slips away from me this fall, I found a spare hour yesterday to visit Earl's niece's new baby. She's three and half weeks old now. We stayed away in fear of giving her the flu, which seems to hit when no one is expecting it.
Yesterday, the kids seemed to be healthy with no signs that anyone could be coming down with anything, so we went to see baby Caroline. Here's a picture of her looking thoughtful about the Iraq and Afghanistan situations that you see behind her:

Here's me making one of my baby faces at her. I forgot how heavy little babies get if you keep bouncing them in your arms over and over and over. My biceps are still sore:
We spent time talking about new baby things and then we got a call from Grace who was having severe lower back spasms at swim team, and we talked about big kid things. That reminded me again about time, which passes so quickly, because it seems like only 17 years, I mean days, since Grace was a newborn and we were bouncing her and jumping at her every whimper.
Caroline's mom and dad are doing well, but still kind of apprehensive about the new baby thing. It's not something most people fall into easily. I forget that it takes awhile before you're slinging that baby over your hip while whipping up dinner and talking on the phone.
But they're doing great. Here's a picture as proof, with said niece back to her size 3 self:
I love babies, especially when they're other peoples. I can hold them and coo to them and snuggle them then go home to my vocal and rowdy teenagers. Sometimes I still get some hugs and an occasional snuggle from them too.

2 comments:

Linda said...

That's why grandkids are so great. They love you, you make some cookies, watch them grow up but they don't live with you-as a rule anyway. Four of mine are coming to visit. I can't wait to see them but always give a sigh of relief when they leave.

BFF said...

The great thing about babies now? You get to give them back. They are so cute and cuddly .... and someone else's. Beautiful, by the way.

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