Couch Potato . . . Cute Version!

Change of pace here while I try to pick up the rhythm of a return to work for one more week of classes — must admit I’d prefer to play couch potato, like my darling Harriet. . .

These were taken the weekend before last, the weekend of that fabulous breakfast,

While I’m not done with grieving, obviously, and still want to write my way through some of my responses to the whole big process of losing a (last) parent, I think a baby break is justified.

We’ve begun to suspect a curl establishing itself in that red hair. . .

And how about those big baby blues. . . .

She was such a welcome antidote in all the gatherings the last few days — hard to resist the chance to make a baby smile, and hard to stay sad when one has success at that. . . . Just peeking at her, asleep in her porta-crib, being soothed by ocean waves on the iPad, cheered me. And we collected around her to watch the latest trick — put her down on her back and watch her draw knees up, swing them to the side, then flip her body over onto her tummy, trapping her arms firmly beneath her until she squiggled sufficiently to free them.

In the wake of death, I wonder how many more times I will get to watch a baby grow, get to cuddle that plump sweetness, feel the bonds tighten as she gains confidence in our eye contact, concentrates on following the pattern of my chat and tries her best to respond with lips pursed, eyebrows working hard, vocal cords pressed into cooing action. In the wake of death, I commit to attending as carefully as I can to the life around me. In the wake of death . . . . I begin my week, remembering the scrumptiousness of a baby hug . . . .

May yours be a Happy Monday!

21 Comments

  1. hostess of the humble bungalow
    8 April 2013 / 3:08 pm

    She is lovely!
    It's times like this that we really need to have hope and the assurance that life goes on and what is better than being in the company if a darling baby?
    She looks like a red head! Gotta love that.

    • materfamilias
      9 April 2013 / 6:19 pm

      Nothing heals like a baby's company, and yes, gotta love a redhead, as you well know! 😉

  2. Pondside
    8 April 2013 / 3:10 pm

    That's what it's all about. She's beautiful, with her curl and her big blue eyes and you are so lucky to be nearby to watch her come into her own.

    • materfamilias
      9 April 2013 / 6:20 pm

      I feel very lucky indeed.

  3. Catherine
    8 April 2013 / 3:39 pm

    She is totally adorable and isn't it wonderful that, amidst all the sadness and grief, there is such joy. The warp and the weft of life. I too found that I have become much more aware of how precious a gift life is after Mum died.

    • materfamilias
      9 April 2013 / 6:20 pm

      Thanks, Marianne. Yes, it's that weaving that keeps us going, isn't it?!

  4. pomomama
    8 April 2013 / 4:30 pm

    What a darling and what an antidote. Harriet – you rock!

    • materfamilias
      9 April 2013 / 6:21 pm

      She truly does, Amanda — thanks!

  5. Duchesse
    8 April 2013 / 4:37 pm

    So true, how new life assuages the end of a long-lived one. You have extraordinarily adorable granddaughters!

    • materfamilias
      9 April 2013 / 6:21 pm

      After my Dad died, we found out that my sister was having twins — we continue to marvel at how they have inherited his spirit.
      And thank you re the granddaughters — I must agree!

  6. K.Line
    8 April 2013 / 8:20 pm

    She is just the cutest! Love that hair. And the top.

    • materfamilias
      9 April 2013 / 6:22 pm

      Thanks! I can't wait 'til the hair begins to grow.

  7. Madame Là-bas
    9 April 2013 / 7:00 am

    What expression on her little face. I think that she will be curly.It is wonderful how life renews itself in the face of loss.

    • materfamilias
      9 April 2013 / 6:23 pm

      It is wonderful — belief in that renewal is affirmed at this time of year, especially in our little ones and in the garden.

  8. LPC
    9 April 2013 / 2:53 pm

    She's just adorable. And a redhead!

    And I look forward to hearing your thoughts on, as you say, the last parent. This is the kind of sharing that helps us.

    • materfamilias
      9 April 2013 / 6:23 pm

      Thanks, Lisa.

  9. Unknown
    9 April 2013 / 5:55 pm

    What a lovely baby girl. Thank you for sharing your baby break with us. I look forward to reading what you want to write about your Mother.

    • materfamilias
      9 April 2013 / 6:23 pm

      She is sweet, isn't she? I know you've written about your Mother, so you know that this is "handle with care" territory. . .

    • Unknown
      11 April 2013 / 8:18 pm

      What's been interesting, as time goes on, is that the meaning is changing. A few years ago, the meaning was all tied up in my experience growing up with my mother and the later years, as an adult, processing that experience. More recently, the meaning is shifting to a wider cultural/historical context. My mother did not experience much in the way of feminist progress.

      I don't know if the idea of shifting meaning will resonate with your own experience, but wanted to mention it, in case it is helpful.

  10. Lorrie
    9 April 2013 / 9:00 pm

    Baby therapy is the best kind! I remember going through a very difficult time when my youngest was about 18 months old. I would awaken in the night, unable to sleep, and gather her up from her bed, then sit with her in the rocking chair. She slept through it all and I was comforted. Harriet is such a darling.

  11. Jeane M.
    11 April 2013 / 12:18 pm

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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