It's early in the morning and I'm sitting on the couch working and drinking tea out of my lovely double walled bodum cup that Ben got me for my birthday. Drinking tea is a habit that I got from my mother, who got it from her mother, who I'm sure got it from her mother because she was from England. We all drink tea. Being a nerdy Seattlite who didn't become a parent until her mid-thirties, I've had lots of time to develop my taste for different teas, explore tea shops, and generally build up a huge collection of exotic tea leaves. Long gone are the days of Lipton tea bags, luke-warm water and a little milk. Here now, I decide between Assam and Darjeeling with honey and soy creamer.
Sitting quietly drinking tea in the morning is the thing I miss most in my transition to parenthood and now that Teo sleeps through the night I try to get up early just so I can drink tea. I'm actually supposed to be working in those early hours but it's more enticing to think that I'm awake just so I can sip my Asaam and listen to the birds twitter their early morning song.
The other day I got to visit with a four week old baby, and the early sights, sounds and physical sensations all came back. The sleeplessness, constant swaying back and forth and the love. It's a trip to look at Teo now and think back to when he was a tiny, mewling baby, just trying to get control of his body. Somehow, despite my parenting, he's become a vibrant, talkative toddler who runs as fast as his legs can carry him wherever he goes.
Preparing for my trip to visit my friend, I started thinking about what to bring her. It would be food because it's always food with me but what? A casserole? Fresh fixings for a salad? What should I make? Then it occurred to me that I've written a whole book on the topic (seriously, I'd forgotten). So I whipped up some Coconut Chicken Soup, threw it in a bag and froze it, which turned out to be a good thing because my visit got postponed twice. So I was able to show up with some food, a little gift for the bebe and lots of love and cuddles. And I brought my own tea!
Friends, if you've purchased Before Baby and enjoyed it, would you be so kind as to write a review on Amazon? We need reviews to boost our rankings and get the word out about Before Baby!
Photo courtesy of http://www.freedigitalphotos.net
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