Five Things Quarentena Ed.

1. I've had the babies full time for two full months now. Full of what? Full of love, challenges, insecurity, fear, laughter, fun, late nights, late mornings, movie nights, a new pool(!), and then another new bigger pool(!!). I feel like alllll of my 21+ years of being a tia has lead to this... I will say that it is so different. Being the fun, part time tia is a drastic change to being a full time caregiver. These little ones have taught me more than I could ever teach them. 

2. Speaking of the pool... Today makes 6 days with our new friend. Well, I guess technically 5 since it took a half day to make it then another half day to fill it. I have had to take several crash courses (thank, YouTube University) on how to properly care for and maintain a pool, but so far so good. This has lead me on a path of renewed appreciation for my backyard. Back in the day, my dad had the greenest, most lush yard on our block. I remember him tending to his beloved grass every evening. I remember when he planted the grapefruit tree. I remember when he built his huge space. Now it's my turn. While I don't know how to do those things on my own, I'm open to learning and the research part of it has been so fun. It's also amazing to witness how the babies manage it. Nana is down to get dirty, to stay out there with us alllllll day long and work. Rudy, on the other hand, prefers to stay inside with his Nintendo Switch. I make sure he gets plenty of time outside these days, and having the pool has been a big incentive. 

3. A few days ago Nana couldn't "starfish", that's how they they taught Rudy how to float at the east side YMCA a few years ago. She was terrified of getting her nose underwater and any kind of splashing caused her to flail her arms and legs and break her floating. I have spent time with them, just the three of us, practicing their swimming and she's made drastic improvement! This babygirl can now starfish with no problem, splashing and all, and is now swimming underwater. Today she showed me how she can dive for toys that are sinking at the bottom and is so proud of herself. I'm amazed. 

4. While getting the yard prepared for the pool, my sister pointed out that one of my trees was dead. I never noticed it before (keep in mind that my time in the backyard was minimal at best. I didn't believe her at first, but it was the only tree without any foliage. I love trees and can stare up at them for hours on end... I'm sad I never noticed this tree was pretty much rotten inside. I got in touch with my yard dude and they were able to come through and tear it down to pieces. 
I thought a lot about that tree, I still do. How is it that I never noticed that it was no longer blooming? How did I miss the lack of shade? How many times did I walk past it without even looking up? 
I think this can be applied to so many things in life. How many dead trees are there in our lives? Is there anything we can do to make them come back to life? And once they're done, rotten inside, do we just let them stay or cut them down and make room for sunlight? 

5. I turned thirty-eight during a pandemic and it was still, somehow, my favorite birthday of all time. Each year gets better and better and although I wasn't able to carry out my original plans, what came as a surprise knocked me off my feet. Can you believe we're still in this? It will be a while longer, I think, but I do believe we will make it out. What are you imagining for the other side? If you read this, and I'm really not sure who does, please let me know. What will the next stage be like for you, and what dead trees are you clearing out? 

Love you, 

Cristina