Yesterday David and I took a mini roadtrip and drove to Astoria with a breakfast stop in Woodland, WA. Woodland has a great local diner (with pumpkin pancakes in the spring, who knew?!?!?!?!) along with tulip and lilac festivals. After a delicious breakfast, we headed off in search of the lilac festival. We were told that the lilac and tulip festivals were close to each other, so we happily set off following the route designated by well-placed tulip festival signs hoping to make at least a brief stop at both. Unfortunately for us, the tulips at the festival were well past their prime. And we never did figure out where the lilac festival was.
After a somewhat disappointing detour, we got back on the road and headed west. It was a gorgeous day and we saw a ton of folks out on their motorcycles. And when I say a ton, I mean it. At one point we were at the top of the hill and there was a line of bikes ahead of us going as far as the eye could see.
When we arrived in Astoria, we headed straight to the Buoy brewery, 2015 winner for best new brewery in the Oregon Beer Awards. The brewery was packed, so while we waited to be seated we passed the time by watching a bunch of California Sea Lions crawling all over each other through the glass floor. Compared to Galapagos Sea Lions, these guys are friggen HUGE!!!
It was while we were waiting that it hit me that we will (hopefully) have a baby soon. And that this baby will be a native Oregonian. What got me were the adorable Buoy beer onesies for sale. Normally one does not associate beer with babies (unless one is in Ireland that is, where Guinness used to have ads encouraging mothers to put Guinness in their babies’ bottles for the vitamin B). But in Oregon, home of some of the best beer in the world, it somehow made sense to me.
I asked David to talk me down off the ledge, but before he got the chance, I had already decided against the purchase. My rationale? Why spend money on a cool baby onesie that our daughter may not even wear once. I was recently with a friend who has a 3+ month old who told me that she was struggling to get her daughter into every outfit she owned at least once before she outgrew them. So my plea to any and all parents reading this blog. If you have any geeky or cool onesies that you want to offload, we will happily take them. That way you get those awesome onesies sitting in a box somewhere out of your house. And we get a geekily adorned baby. I see that as a win/win. But I digress.
The point I was actually wanting to make is that I am just beginning to see the world through a parent’s eyes. As I looked around the very crowded brew pub, I watched the parents interacting with their kids. From the ones sitting with their kids watching the sea lions to the ones trying to get their toddlers to eat. It made me think of the way David and I were able to head off on our roadtrip with almost no forethought and nothing but our keys, wallets and a bottle of water. And how, by the same time next year (we hope) we will need much more time and prep to get out of the house. Not to mention the fact that we will have to bring a diaper bag with at least one change of clothes and either formula or food with us. And not only is that ok with me, but I am insanely eager for the change in pace and lifestyle to arrive sooner rather than later.
On the ride home I caught myself looking at the back seat and imagining a baby car seat sitting there. With that image in my mind, I drifted off to sleep and dreamt of our someday baby. And when I woke up from my nap I realized just how incredibly fortunate we are to have this liminal time between just being a couple and introducing a baby into our family.
I have a new appreciation for the simplicity of our lives as they are right now. And I am grateful for the opportunity to say farewell to our adult lives as we have lived them thus far. I am also ready and eager to embark on our new journey. I go in with eyes open to the sleep deprivation, the seemingly endless diapers and disgusting outputs that babies are capable of. But I also go in having had a taste of the love I will feel for a baby if the love I feel for my niecelettes in any indication of what is to come.