30 Years Ago – July 1990
/30 years ago, in July 1990, we made our first trip to Watkins Glen State Park in New York. Our daughter was the perfect size to enjoy the Gorge Trail in a back carrier. My husband and I traded off climbing up the stairs. She enjoyed putting her hands in the water falling from overhead ledges and was excited with the larger amount of water when the trail went behind a waterfall.
Staying in a hotel was exciting for her too. She was not walking yet but pulling up frequently. Being in a strange bed for the night made it hard for her to fall asleep…but she still woke up at her regular early time (6 AM).
I was working three days a week and beginning to realize how hectic things were going to be working full time in the fall. I felt pulled in a lot of directions and exhausted on some days. It helped to have the house cleaners come every week rather than every other week and have my husband help clean up after dinner….but I was still somewhat anxious about the transition.
My daughter was easier and harder to feed all at the same time. She liked peanut butter and rice cake ‘sandwiches’ and finger foods….but also was being very clear about the things she didn’t like. We were trying to encourage more solid foods, but she was a baby that liked her formula/milk.
She was getting more coordinated at more than eating. She liked to drop things over the side of her play pen…and then indicate that she wanted them back.
Overlaid on everything was the evidence that my rearranging in May and June to make the house safe for the baby was paying off…even though I was still making tweaks…discovering some areas I hadn’t thought about before. She found the cat door to the basement stairs very quickly; I opted to block the opening since it appeared that she would be able to wiggle through it.
The muffin/cake pans, the skillets and plasticware were perfect height for her inspection. I hadn’t thought about the scattering of items on the kitchen floor….and having to always clean them right before use. I decided to put some baby latches on some of the cabinets but the drawer under the stove was always available for her to open.
I padded the brick hearth with an old area run and some cushions. The cat liked the arrangement as much as the baby did.
I was preparing for my sister’s family to visit in August; her daughter is a week older than mine and they were both coming up on the 1 year mark.
My parents were in the process of buying a new house…a local move in the Dallas area. And they are still living in that house today!
Overall – a month that our family rolled with the changes of developing child and my going back to work…building our resilience to cope with the anticipated challenge of me going to full time work in the fall.
