Staying Up

I was starting to worry a bit about Baby Girl when she hit the eight-month-old mark and still wasn't crawling. I was worrying, oh yes, but not complaining. I cherished that calm before the storm. Mobility blew in just a little later and it was a full hurricane.

She mastered crawling (awwww) and then took an appraising look at the world around her, wondering what to conquer next. Within days, she realized that UP was the direction everybody else was taking, so she crawled over to the couch and clawed her way to a standing position. Yipes. And crawled to the edge of the crib to stand up. Yipes. And crawled to the edge of every precariously top-heavy item in the house and tried to stand up. Yipes.

There is nothing more wonderful in her world than standing. Yes, just standing. It is a glorious accomplishment and she does not tire of it. There is only one downside to this new "up" side of life: She has no idea how to get down. She will usually accomplish the "down" portion by simple falling to the side, legs straight, and hitting the floor. She cries, I comfort her, and she crawls back over to the couch to stand up again.

I have spent much of January feeling like I am falling down a lot in my life and trying to find the strength to stand up. I'm stuck feeling down, Eden is stuck standing up. Together, we make things work. She lifts and comforts me when I'm feeling down and I break the fall when she's been up for too long.

The lessons she teaches me are endless. Her inborn wisdom is immense. Parenting is an honor that I cherish.