How long can this continue?
Initially we were not surprised. We had been told it would happen. Non-stop. Indiscriminate. But we figured when we returned to the States a shift would occur. We arrived home and nothing changed. “How can this be?” we asked each other. “Is this normal?” and “Are all kids this way?”. We even asked the doctor, explaining our befudlement only to be told there was nothing to worry about, to keep doing what we were doing.
Jenn is at Target getting new shoes for Penelope. This weekend we noticed they were tight. I checked her toes and they were right at the tip. Hard to believe it was only two months ago that I was at Wal-Mart in Zhengzhou trying to pick out shoes, guessing at the size, attempting to approximate what would fit our daughter best. I hit it out of the park with the shoes. We’ve gotten our $36 RMB (or $6 dollars) worth. I didn’t have as much success with socks. That would take another week to get partly right.
Penelope and I have a scheduling conflict. I go to work at 6:45 and she gets up after 7:30. I get home after 5 and she goes to bed around 8. I’ve been missing my baby since I started back in the office.
Not Penelope of course. I went back to work today. On Monday’s I work from home, a perfect transition from nearly a month off. Thanks to the terrific team I work with I was able to get back into the groove quickly, taking care of administrative work and clearing out emails. IM windows multiplied exponentially at the bottom of my screen, wishing me a happy (belated) father’s day and asking how my trip was. It may be the first time I was thrilled to answer them all.
We celebrated Father’s Day this evening. Words were few and far between. My dad, Jenn, and I spent the evening around a little table at the local Mellow Mushroom, fixated on Penelope. My dad commented on how well behaved she was. That’s encouraging. I was never around young children, never felt comfortable around them, as though they were porcelain and my hands iron.
