Heigh-ho, Heigh-ho

It's true, you know. Time flies when you're having fun.

It even flies on the days when you're jet-lagged, on the nights when you're praying your toddler will sleep more than an hour at a time, or when you announce that if you have to break up yet one more argument over the blue locomotive or the stethoscope or whatever the coveted toy of the week is, you're sending it--and every other toy in the house--across the street to the mythical Poindexter McDougall's house.

Good old Poindexter McDougall.

Somehow 12 weeks have flown by and suddenly I find myself preparing to return to work tomorrow. It's hard to believe--and yet in other ways it feels as if Michael has been with our family for so much longer. Ever since we returned home on Sept. 1, he has slipped right into our lives.

He and Louis are brothers, for better or for worse. When Michael wakes up before Louis does, he tries to make a lot of noise to wake him up. When that doesn't work, he begs me to go get Louis up. If I mention that we're going to do something and neglect to name every member of the family, Louis corrects me with, "And Michael too, of course."

They have their skirmishes and disagreements. Michael is no pushover and Louis stands his ground.

Michael and I have our disagreements too--always over food or sleep. He wants more of the former and less of the latter. But gradually we are sorting out our issues. The other day Michael was standing in the kitchen entryway, crying because dinner wasn't ready at 3:30. Because of his past experience, he legitimately doesn't understand that food preparation takes time. Louis kept popping around the corner to make him laugh. So Michael would cry for a minute and then burst into laughter. Then he'd remember he was supposed to be crying and the tears would start again.

I don't usually take pictures of our boys in tears, but I almost reached for the video camera that day.

Watching Michael blossom in our family and our home has been extraordinary. He's a fun-loving, affectionate little boy who can be charming and cuddly. He plays beautifully on his own, but he also likes to try whatever Louis is doing. He wants to do everything himself, saying "Mine! Mine!" and shaking my hand away as he tries the steps.



But then our independent little boy who snatches the spoon out of my hands is also delighted when Louis asks to feed him.

Watching Louis step into his big brother role has been fun. We knew he would be a great big brother, but we weren't sure how long it would take. He still has his struggles, and sharing your parents is hard, never mind sharing your toys, but every week Louis shows how far he's come and how seriously he takes his role.

 
 
Tomorrow when I return to work, the boys will stay with my mother full-time while John and I are at work. Grandma is amazing--a mother of six and grandmother of 10--and we are indebted to her. Louis and I have talked about this transition several times over the past few weeks, discussing why Mama has to go to work, why Baba has to go to work, and how Louis and Michael will be with Grandma during the day. This is a familiar arrangement to Louis, of course.

Yesterday I said to Louis, "So Michael might not understand that Mama always comes back. Do you think he’ll be a little sad or he’ll be OK when I'm at work?" Louis thought for a moment and then said, "I think Michael will be…look, Mama! A squirrel!"

The conversation changed to why squirrels run up telephone poles, and I decided not to raise the issue again. Then a few minutes later Louis said, “I will tell Michael that when Mama is not there, he has Grandma.”

So Louis--our boy who loves his routine--is ready for his Grandma days to begin again.

And Michael is as ready as he can be--and he has a big brother who will be at his side as they spend their days together.

As for Baba, he knows dinner will be a little later and a little less elaborate--though he may be nervous trying to imagine the next step down from burned fish sticks.

And I'm a bundle of emotions, but overall feeling OK. I'm so very sad that this special time is ending, but I also feel very blessed to know our boys will be in wonderful hands.

Most of all, I'm happy to think that while John and I are working, the rest of our family of four will be together. And yes, Louis. I mean Michael too, of course.