Three years ago, my husband and I were living in Valencia, Spain. I was heavily pregnant. I had stopped sleeping well. My ankles had pretty much disappeared. I was so swollen it hurt. The past 9 months had been tough on me. There was no glow, little joy, and a lot (like, a lot) of nausea. Depression had dominated two thirds of the pregnancy term. Despite all of that, I knew I was going to love my daughter and that the darkness I had lived in would lift. There was a deep sense of certainty in my mind that it would all work out. And just like that, on October 1st, 2018, it did.
I won’t bore ya with the details of my labor. It was hard. It was scary. It was amazing. When I heard Rosemary cry for the first time, my heart did this thing. A flutter, joyful kind of pitter patter took over my body. All of a sudden, she was not just a being living in my womb… she was solid matter in my arms.
Rosemary is… amazing. Amazingly smart. Amazingly beautiful. Amazingly annoying. Amazingly human. She is unbothered by the trials of the past 18 months. She cares most about balls (of any kind really), Frozen, books, books, books, and walks around the neighborhood. Scaling the ladders at the park are her new thing and I am a little terrified. Her independence is in full bloom. And while I am delighted to see this kind of growth, I also feel scared. At present, Issy and I make her decisions. Her care is ours. Sure, she has opinions but what we say goes. What happens when that changes and she actually cares about the socks she is going to wear or the vegetable she is going to eat? I am so not ready for that. But, I know it’s coming whether I am ready or not.
SO. Her third birthday is approaching. How am I doing? Despite being totally freaked out that she is already three, I am happy. I am happy that she is relatively normal… though a little lacking in the sharing department with other kids… Rosemary is a wonderful kid. She loves to be active. She has begun to hop everywhere. It’s incredibly sweet. As we plan for her birthday weekend, we feel a lot of joy with our little family. She has already received gifts from a TON of people and I am contemplating giving her something new each day between now and the end of the weekend so as to not overwhelm her with anything on her big birthday day (Christmas of 2020 was a bit overstimulating for her and we have learned our lesson). She only turns three once and the chances that she will remember it are slim- but we still want to give her as much joy as we can! My heart is full when I think ahead of all that is going to come for her in the following year. I have a feeling she will rock ski lessons in the winter, be successful at preschool in the spring and swim fiercely during the summer. I. Love. Her.
Happy Birthday, my little goose!
The Salty Exchange 