Single Parenthood
Due to the pandemic, there has not been a single time in the almost eleven months since Birdie was born where either M or I was left alone with Birdie for more than three hours, let alone overnight. That changed this past weekend for a single night.
M's good friend Kati still lives in the Columbus area near M's parents. She had met Birdie briefly when we went there in August. Kati works from home and is fully vaccinated, so after quarantining for a week and doing a nasal swab test, she and her two dogs came up for the weekend. She stayed in the AirBNB that my family and M's parents used in November and October, respectively, but she came into our house and hung out for long periods of time. She is officially the first non-family member / non-medical profession to hold Birdie.
Kati's dogs are both quite elderly. Libby is very similar to Tulip in breed, age, size, deafness and disposition. Because Libby's so gentle we let Birdie crawl toward her and pet her. It turns out Birdie was more interested in grabbing the interesting things on Libby's collar, but she still petted Libby a few times. Since Birdie wasn't at all mobile when Tulip passed, she never really interacted with her, which makes Libby her first official dog that she's petted.
Kati's other dog Rosie is a small terrier with food issues who feels that she needs to guard Kati with her life, so Birdie was not allowed to interact with her directly, but she did look at her with interest when Rosie was over.
Dogs aside, on Friday we ordered pizza from Angelos. Saturday we did breakfast then M and Kati went for a hike while Libby hung out with me and Rosie hung out in a kennel at the AirBNB. We had a latke party Saturday night with home-made mint ice cream and a homemade sesame seed challah. Kati brought Birdie a tiny Birdie-sized rocking chair and some stuffed critters.
After Birdie went to sleep, M and Kati and the canines went to the AirBNB to eat tiny cheese quiches and watch trashy television until the wee hours of the night. I stayed back at the house with a sleeping Birdie, who alas woke up on her usual early schedule. M and Kati slept in, then came over for French Toast made from the remains of the challah.
In the big scheme of things, my night as a single parent was irrelevant, but it was still the very first time that either M or myself were solo with the kid overnight or really for any extended period of time. Let's hear it for pandemic parenting and working from home!
M's good friend Kati still lives in the Columbus area near M's parents. She had met Birdie briefly when we went there in August. Kati works from home and is fully vaccinated, so after quarantining for a week and doing a nasal swab test, she and her two dogs came up for the weekend. She stayed in the AirBNB that my family and M's parents used in November and October, respectively, but she came into our house and hung out for long periods of time. She is officially the first non-family member / non-medical profession to hold Birdie.
Kati's dogs are both quite elderly. Libby is very similar to Tulip in breed, age, size, deafness and disposition. Because Libby's so gentle we let Birdie crawl toward her and pet her. It turns out Birdie was more interested in grabbing the interesting things on Libby's collar, but she still petted Libby a few times. Since Birdie wasn't at all mobile when Tulip passed, she never really interacted with her, which makes Libby her first official dog that she's petted.
Kati's other dog Rosie is a small terrier with food issues who feels that she needs to guard Kati with her life, so Birdie was not allowed to interact with her directly, but she did look at her with interest when Rosie was over.
Dogs aside, on Friday we ordered pizza from Angelos. Saturday we did breakfast then M and Kati went for a hike while Libby hung out with me and Rosie hung out in a kennel at the AirBNB. We had a latke party Saturday night with home-made mint ice cream and a homemade sesame seed challah. Kati brought Birdie a tiny Birdie-sized rocking chair and some stuffed critters.
After Birdie went to sleep, M and Kati and the canines went to the AirBNB to eat tiny cheese quiches and watch trashy television until the wee hours of the night. I stayed back at the house with a sleeping Birdie, who alas woke up on her usual early schedule. M and Kati slept in, then came over for French Toast made from the remains of the challah.
In the big scheme of things, my night as a single parent was irrelevant, but it was still the very first time that either M or myself were solo with the kid overnight or really for any extended period of time. Let's hear it for pandemic parenting and working from home!