Life As I Know It

It has been seven short weeks since Annaliese Elizabeth Tinúviel graced us with her presence. And as she surpasses her fiftieth day here on Earth, I am reminded of how much has changed, even as life once again begins to take on some semblance of normalcy.

First, I would like to point out that the word normalcy is a very strange looking word! I was totally expecting MS Word to flash its red, zig-zag, hey-idiot-you-can’t-spell, underlining marker at me. I am led to wonder how many other words in the English language end in ‘lcy.’ Perhaps another day . . . . while we haven’t gotten Annaliese weighed in about two weeks, we reasonably guess that she has passed the six pound marker. But more than that, she looks bigger. She fits in newborn diapers and fills out most newborn clothes. Someone the other day told me she looks like, well, a newborn! I figure that to be an amazing accomplishment for one who originally looked like a miniature model of a new baby, who could never have been mistaken for anything but a preemie.

But size of our newest alone doesn’t provide for normalcy. For our life to regain that, other changes had to be restored. Friday, one major change came one step closer to how it was before ‘The Girl.’ Another brief (perhaps) aside . . . if any of you have spent a gratuitous amount of time watching The Simpsons, you will have heard Homer’s reference to Bart as ‘The Boy.’ For some strange reason, I have found solace and amusement in so referencing Andrew in blog form. I do believe, however, that this is my first use of ‘The Girl’ to replace the lavish and long name of my daughter. Now where was I . . . oh yes, The Boy is again regularly attending day care and Mollie has rejoined blue collar America (is a P.A. blue class???). What I basically mean to say is “Mollie’s working again.” She is only working three days a week so she can be home on the days I work, but life it seems has restarted in spite of the additional tiny mouth residing in our house. The tiny girl who has been the root of so much change in our life is becoming part of our regular life. As the major and temporary adjustments fade away, how life seems to get put on hold for a baby, she remains and is finding her place in life as we know it.