Monkey in Our Midst

I tip-toe across the wood floor in the morning so Anja will sleep as I get ready for work. Somehow, she knows. I'll be nearly home free and one of the cats will tear through the apartment, knocking a small pile of mail onto the floor.

Swooosh...

"Ooh it's Mommy!" If I leave her, she'll raise h-e-doublehockysticks. If I fetch her, she'll stand up on the toilet seat so we can be eye to eye. She will dump my make-up bag upside down. Or take the ironed clothes I've laid out, drag them across the floor and put them on.

This morning I was certain she was sleeping when I went into the bathroom. I cleaned the cat box half-asleep, scrubbed the toilet and got into the shower. Don't ask why I do dirty jobs in the morning. I just do. Minutes later I heard the bathroom door. Anja. I peeked around the curtain to find her holding the toilet brush by the wrong end. [Duck head back behind curtain. Silent scream. A toilet flushing. My shower water is nuking me]. Anja clapped, jumping up & down, "Yeah!! I flushed the toiled all by myself!"

Yes you did. All by yourself.

I've always had time management issues. People like me get a one-two when they become parents. While finishing getting ready and dwelling on complications, I realized that Anja was standing in a doorway watching me quietly. Her upper lip curled. Long streaks of tears fell across her beautiful cheeks from pained eyes. "You going to work Mommy?"

Thank god for Daddy. If I'd been whisking her off to daycare, I'm not sure I'd have been able. Daddy crawled out of bed and took the baby in his arms. I hugged them both and off I went.

*****

Unrelated: check out a rather wonderful twist of old-tyme on a new thing!

Independent Days

While acquaintances extend sympathy for all the "terrible" difficulties of late, they don't see the entire picture. There are tiny diamonds in the rough. When Anja returns the unconditional affection she's learned and attempts to communicate her love for us, we're on air. Even when she's pouting, saying "dat's mine" and "nooo, I don't want to eat that...", this shows that her little brain is growing. Having a difficult human being in our daily lives is a part of 'Family'. She is our family, though challenging, tiring and equally, loving. This is what gets us through with smiles on our faces.

Before Anja we had strong relationships with our family of friends. We don't see them much, very unfortunately. What has blown us away in recent months is how Anja, entirely on her own, has developed a circle of friends from 18 mos to 65+.

A few weeks ago, we were bopping around the Sunset district. (Her friend & sitter Sandra takes her all over town where she meets people). Everyone knew Anja and called her by name! The folks at Yummy House, the coffee baristas across the street and even passers-by stopped to greet her. Amazing. Here's a glipse of what Snowbebe, who isn't bebe anymore, has been up to...

Above: Hailey, age 4

Left: Sandra

Right: Lunch with Sean at the Park Chalet

Bottom: Off to the beach with Daddy