Carolyne

Six Months and One Day

For a time this morning, it was as if my leave at home with Carolyne was just beginning - a trip to the doctor’s office on a brilliant cloudless day, a long walk in the warm sunshine, visiting with kids at the playground. It was the kind of day we had in early September, before the leaves turned and fell and before I started counting the weeks until our days of leisure together would end.

But today was an anomaly - a warm November day, Carolyne’s six-month day and the final day of my leave at home. Next week, I’ll be in Florida visiting my dad, who is recovering from surgery, so Carolyne gets her Grandma as a more-than-capable stand-in. And then, like Leslye already has, I return to work.

When people told me how lucky I was to have this time, they weren’t kidding. Add in the fact that Carolyne has been pretty much the easiest baby to deal with - surely a ploy to bring about a brother or sister - and my time off was an incredible gift. It would have been a gift no matter Carolyne’s disposition, but somehow I feel pretty lucky to have had as many good days with her as I got. And it would have been impossible without the support of my family and, especially, Leslye.

So tonight we went out - got a friend to babysit (not that that involves much as far as Carolyne is concerned) and had a meal out alone. Carolyne slept soundly tonight, six months after she was born. In two weeks she starts daycare, and the adventure begins again. Stay tuned.