The month is a blur.

I’ve been trying to journal. About every 4 days I remember and then have to go back and cover the days I’ve missed. This is probably good for remembering the big things, but terrible for the small moments, so:

– Taking the car to the shop and the baby to meet a friend for coffee. She thanks me for the baby snuggles; he has a dramatic blowout.

– I wake up on a weekend morning wanting to connect with the big kid because we get no time together anymore. I suggest that we make popcorn and watch our favorite show. He watches excitedly as I pop the corn on the stove, then we pick through a bowl of mostly duds together. The moment is perfect, even if the popcorn is not.

– The big kid declared that my 14 hole Doc Martens are my “fall shoes”. I like it.

– Waiting for election results, not quite able to breathe. Remembering so much hope 2 years ago, 10 years ago.

– The baby is so chatty, a whole range of sounds and expressions, most of them happy. I don’t remember this from last time. We take video whenever we can.

– I get to a good stopping point a few minutes early one Wednesday and head to Grounds of Being for a coffee on my way to therapy. N sends photos of the big kid playing in the leaves on the Quad. I pick up a coffee for him (and a tiny cup of almond milk for the big kid) and meet them to nurse, and then later to walk home together.

– An early morning haircut playdate, trying to juggle kids and coffee and adult conversation with a friend I don’t see often enough.

– The baby gets sick, and then enters a new developmental window, and then the four month sleep regression starts. It’s all still somehow easier than with the big kid. Is he really that much easier, or are we more prepared?

– The kids love each other so much. We don’t feel safe leaving them alone together for more than a couple of minutes because the big one is constantly on top of the little one and the little one couldn’t be happier.

– I take the baby to a spontaneous birthday dinner for a dear friend. It feels like every single person working at the restaurant cooed over him – and, for the first time, he doesn’t want to take a break to rest on my chest or my shoulder – he wants to take it all in.

– We opt out of travel on Thanksgiving day, and the big kid and I make dinner at home: portabella mushroom caps stuffed with mashed potatoes, a Brussels sprouts salad, a Swedish apple pie. We spend Black Friday with family, and take a walk in the woods while the baby sleeps.

– The baby outgrows things and we pass them on. A blessing of living in a small space is that we literally don’t have room for sentimental attachment to things. I will be very sad when he outgrows his sleep sacks, but there’s no reason to keep them – or anything else.

– I start going to the gym on the weekends. I try to push away any feelings of guilt for taking time that I need – because I need it. Each workout feels like a gift.

– I meet with a new-to-the-campus AVP in the office of the actual president. I am wearing my “fall shoes”. The meeting goes well, and when I leave, hundreds of starlings are swooping and dancing above the quad.

And then, at the end of the month, a scary health crisis leaves us all deeply rattled, the latest in a year that has already been too much. We’re all fine (apart from bad colds), but take a moment to hold your people close.

November Reading

• Are You My Mother?

November Eating

• From Ottolenghi Simple:
  • Roasted beets with yogurt and preserved lemon
  • Brussels sprouts with garlic
  • Roasted asparagus with almonds, capers, and dill
• From My New Roots:
  • Brussels sprouts slaw with apples and cranberries
  • Tempeh “triangles”, our old stand-by
  • Roasted parsnip soup, except with carrots, so not the recipe at all
  • Broccoli basil broth, thin but satisfying
• Curried tomato gnocchi soup
• Pad prik king with eggplant and tofu
• Long-desired fish and chips from Pleasant House Pub, followed by cocktails and a trifle
• Pumpkin macaroni and cheeze which was SO MUCH BETTER than expected
• Potato leek soup – comforting, but unappetizing thanks to purple potatoes and soy milk
• Chickpea veggie burgers which filled us up and stocked the freezer
• Several curries with a massive amount of veggies leftover from a fancy work event
• Spaghetti squash, lasagna-style
• A passable cafe au lait thanks to my IKEA PRODUKT and milk warmed in a metal measuring cup directly on the burner