Steady As She Goes

In the course of day-to-day life, with the pressures at work and the stress of raising a family of four kids, it’s easy to lose focus and appreciation of the good times that are happening right in front of our faces. Events come along, daily if you’re looking for them, that will make you stop and smile, remembering the very reason you wanted children in the first place. For me it has been a series of moments this week. GK has become more comfortable walking to the point that it is her main mode of transportation. It turns out that laughing at my kids is the reason I’ve had them, and have kept them around, because there is nothing funnier than watching her toddle around the house like a drunken sailor on deck and then fall down. And then get back up and keep going. I know there’s a more emotional point of view to be taken here with our last baby growing up and becoming more independent, and that this is only the beginning of more milestones that will accumulate to make a little person who retains only a slight resemblance to the baby we once held in our arms. But really, right now, it’s just funny. It’s like having a tiny Dean Martin stumbling around, holding her arms up to maintain balance while trying not to drop whatever it is she might be holding – remote, baby doll, toothbrush, highball. If you listen closely you’ll hear me in the background encouraging her, praising her, but mostly laughing, not with her, but at her.