El Nino's Big Adventure

I didn't know it was Take Your Child to Work Day until today. But el nino came to work with mom yesterday - like his birth, he was ahead of schedule. Dad has been sick for a few days, and we thought we'd give him a little break. El's mom is fortunate enough to work in an environment that this is acceptable when absolutely necessary. Obviously not something to take advantage of but incredibly helpful when needed. Mommy has worked in a lot of different offices over the years, and this is the first place she encountered co-workers bringing their children to work occasionally.

Well el nino had a fine day at mom's desk. He likes the key board and all the papers mommy was "playing" with. He was either in the bjorn carrier, on mom's lap, or next to her desk on a blanket. He took a couple of naps and was carried around the floor by a couple of people. He particularly liked mom's 21-year-old co-worker. Every time she walked in the room he would laugh out loud. She was uncertain if this was a compliment but was a good sport about it.

When we got home at the end of the day, el was de-lighted to see dad. He obviously missed him. And apparently our daug was anxious all day wondering where the baby was and pacing back and forth. So we were all happy to be reunited at home at the end of the day. And now, today, mom is glad to be back at work sans el - whew, it was exhausting. But so glad we could get through the day so well and el no worse for wear.

I thought that once the pregnancy was over my forgetfulness would dissipate. Apparently it has not. Perhaps the distraction of pregnancy is now the distraction of baby. He does seem to be on my mind more often than not. Somehow the subject of el nino comes up in most conversations and sometimes no conversations are taking place but I start one up and guess what the topic is. You guessed it, my one-and-only son. I just hope my friends will not get too bored and frustrated hearing about how well he eats (he opens his mouth eagerly anticipating the next spoonful, is that not amazing?) or how cute he looks in the morning smiling up at me when I reach into his crib to pick him up or how he loves to take mommy's exercise walk with her and our daug, but if he falls asleep mom has to put her hand on his head so it doesn't wobble too much while he is in the bjorn carrier. I mean are these not scintillating details? Ok, I'm enamored and this is my first child, and you'll all just have to give me a break. But I'm not promising to curb my enthusiasm. Just letting you know that I know I'm being a little absurd. But just a little. You'll have to forgive me my forgetfulness too. I'm beginning to think it may just be a permanent part of my life from now on. And I'm willing to live with that.

El's dad takes care of him during the day while mom is at work. Then mom comes home to take care of el while dad goes to work in the evening. So when dad comes home in the middle of the night, he has a ritual of looking adoringly at el nino while he sleeps in his crib. When mom wakes up enough to notice, it looks like a rather sacred act on dad's part. So the other night, dad came home, and looked in on el's crib, so dear, so sweet. As he turned away to ready himself for bed, we heard a fart emerge from el's crib. Dad did a double take as if to say, "Are you talking to me?" It was a "Hiya, dad, how's it goin'?" kinda fart. So dear, so sweet. And mom takes credit for having an unbroken line of fart-abulous farting ability from grandpa to mama to el.

We just watched this movie over the weekend. For those of you unfamiliar with the plot, the movie is set in 2027 in England and humans have been unable to reproduce for 18 years. Then suddenly an immigrant (and immigrants are being persecuted - um this is the future or the present, hmmm) is pregnant. I found the movie disturbing and thought provoking. Just think for a moment what life would be like without children? No hope, barren and desolate.

The movie's world is chaos and violence. And of course many people have to live that way now. But it is hard to imagine life in England or the United States like that. We have order and precision and clean streets, gun laws, cul-de-sacs, SUVs, trees and grass and all things nice. We don't live in a police state or a Big Brother state. But this movie made me see how lucky we are and how fragile it all is. And it made me think of el nino.

Babies are wonderful. Most of us are drawn to babies in one way or another, at the very least they bring a smile to our faces if we take the time to notice. They are so vulnerable, and they smell really good most of the time. But it is what they promise that is also so important. They represent hope and potential and possibility. And it is our responsibility to nurture that possibility, to seize that hope, and to protect their vulnerability. And then we can dare to dream what they might do, who they might be, how they might live and love. And we can bask in the radiance of their presence, the purity of their smiles, the joy inside their laughter. Oh what a wonderful world!

El is sleeping through the night now, and he doesn't wake up until Mom gets him up to eat at 7am after her alarm goes off. So mom's sleep deprivation has subsided. We await el sitting up on his own. As soon as that happens we'll let you know. Each day brings new wonders and delights.