Thoughts on Impending Parenthood

I can’t quite believe that we’re a week away, more or less, from meeting our little Sprout.

Nine months certainly fly by before you know it… three seasons of gardening, three trimesters of baking, and soon a third human appearing in the house. I almost can’t wrap my mind around that, though I’m exceptionally eager to meet her.

You see, Will and I have been together for nine years. Just the two of us.

We’ve been so accustomed to moving at our own cadence, making decisions that pertained to us alone, packing up and taking off whenever we want, wherever we want. We waited a long time to add to our family, to be sure we accomplished as much as we could so that we felt settled by the time we were trying for a baby.

Not to say that life ends when a baby arrives on the scene — but we know that it changes, and we didn’t want to be those parents who find themselves thinking, We wish we would’ve done x, y, and z first.

So Will and I, we’re feeling good and settled. We’re stoked for this next step. We’re pumped to start planning adventures with a baby in tow.

I particularly love new and unfamiliar experiences, and I’m excited to bring Sprout into our life and show her what makes it so beautiful.

I’m excited for road-tripping and backpacking and climbing and surfing and snowboarding, sure, but I’m also excited for the smaller moments. Impromptu dance parties in the living room. Random bursts of karaoke in the kitchen. Lazy midday cuddles, just ’cause. Movie marathon nights.

I’m excited for Will and me to have another reason to be goofy together, to relive all the best moments from our childhood. I’m excited for pillow forts and slumber parties. I’m excited to jump from puddle to puddle and make angels in the snow. I’m excited to make more messes at home if it means we spend all day laughing so hard that we start crying.

But most of all, I’m excited to see Will as a dad. He’s going to be the best dad, and the thought of him with a little girl makes my heart explode. He’s phenomenally patient and nurturing. He has such an amazing mind and great curiosity and will have so much to teach her.

When Sprout reaches that stage of toddlerhood where all she asks is, Why? — well, you know who will be at the other end with a brilliant answer! (I, on the other hand, have already been designated as the disciplinarian, much like the roles we already assume with our furbabies.)

Last month, we went out to dinner for Valentine’s Day which we never do, but since I’ve been getting sentimental about all of our “last this” and “last that” as a twosome, we thought a quiet night out would be a nice send-off to parenthood.

We were seated next to a couple and their daughter, who was no more than five years old. Amidst all the other tables where couples were enjoying their romantic candlelit dinners, smooching and sweet-talking, this table was hands-down the sweetest.

The whole family was dressed up, and the parents were just as lovey and attentive to each other as they were to their adorable daughter.

The scene tugged at Will’s heartstrings, and he was awash with the sappy realization that next year, he would have two valentines at dinner. He saw it as a sign, among many other signs we’ve had throughout the pregnancy, that he was meant to have a daughter at this moment.

(The last sign he had was on our babymoon in Bend, Oregon. He was standing in the lift line waiting for me, and found himself surrounded by a band of mini rippers in hot pink snowsuits and matching skis and snowboards. He pictured himself shredding the mountain with a six-year-old Sprout, and was instantly sold on little girls.)

As we await her, our to-do list is finally dwindling and our house is the cleanest it’s been since the day we moved in.

We made time for a meandering hike near our neighborhood to a cove we’ve never explored before. It is now our new favorite beach in Southern California… and that’s saying quite a lot.

So, friends… one week, maybe less. I’m hoping I make it all the way to the end, but as long as we have a healthy baby in our arms, we are ready whenever she decides to enter our world.