Milestones & The End of an Era

There have been some major milestones met this week and as these moments have come and gone I have begun to realize we are closing a substantial chapter in our lives. With the close of this chapter we are also opening a brand new one though and I believe it could appropriately be named: The End of an Era- What the Heck Are We Doing?

Paul and I have been together for 10 years in May...give or take a few brief interludes that in retrospect were a collassal waste of both of our time. But in any event 10 years is equal to a whole lot of accumulations. Accumulations of good times and great memories, accumulations of a variety of unnecessary material things and accumulations of preferences (aka- knowing what you like and becoming accustomed to it). Essentially, in the past 10 years we have accumulated a lot of...well, stuff. What brings me to this discussion is also one of the milestones met this week. Our nursery furniture arrived. It was such an exciting day and one I have been waiting for for quite some time. In fact the warehouse man and I have become BFF over the past two weeks just trying to set this all up. But nonetheless, the crib, dresser and nightstand arrived as planned and it was a momentous occassion for a few reasons. First, it required Paul and I to purge the pre-exisiting bedroom furniture and second, it made everything seem that much more real.

You may think getting rid of old furniture to replace it with new stuff is quite exciting and let me just say it was...in a way. But it was also kind of bittersweet for us or at least for me, being the highly emotional hormonal woman I am these days. You see the bedroom set was one of the first things Paul and I bought together and it held real sentimental value- it was part of our accumulations. Those material things I mentioned that you tend to build up over the years...the only difference was this one had an emotional tag on it so the thought of getting rid of it was sort of sad. It was in our first apartment, our first home and our current home so it had some miles on it for sure. It sat in our guest bedroom for the past year and provided a great home away from home for many people along the way. In fact, Paul's best friend Shaun actually took a photo of the room and shared it with friends down in Long Beach to let them know this was the best spot in town to stay while he was visiting Sac. I always had the bed pulled down, the lighting just so and his towels out when he arrived. I thought is felt cozy- Kind of a W Hotel meets the Four Seasons. Apparently he agreed. Now however, the room will officially be a nursery and the old bedroom furniture, it went to my Aunt so at least it is still in the family and that does my heart good.

The "baby's room" became a real nursery right before my eyes with all the accompaniments and I had a real "ah-ha" moment after they put everything together and left. I walked back in and thought to myself...gone are the days of a cozy guest room for far away friends and drunken sleepovers and soon are the days of sleepless nights rocking in the glider and putting a crying baby to bed. That sentiment of course was followed by...oh my gosh what have we gotten ourselves into. That night Paul got home and checked it out in kind of a shocked... what the hell are we doing sort of way too. In fact his reaction was kind of a laugh and sigh all at the same time. We both agreed, the arrival of a nursery officially marks the end of an era. We are no longer the fly by the seat of our pants kind of people...we are parents. Yikes!

So to make a long story even longer I have to mention our accumulation of preferences which has become quite generous over the years. Basically, we have become undeniably set in our ways. I know it is true, I am super particular and maybe even a tad obsessive but I like our house just so. I just have always felt like we are so blessed to have such nice things that we should care for them, appreciate them and showcase them. So, everything has a place. I like neatness, tidiness and organization. Like I said, everything has its spot. When the cleaners leave I actually go through the whole house and twist and turn each little thing to its exact home so it looks as if it has never been touched. I like it just so. What can I say...at least I admit it. For those reading this who have children I am sure you are chukling to yourself about now and thinking...oh you just wait. I know what I am in for so I am working on this- it is one of those accumulations I mentioned that I am working on purging. I know everything will be different when London arrives so I am trying to make progress. You know, walk past a crooked candle without moving it, avoid adjusting the tilted mirror in the hallway or fluffing the down comforter so it is exactly even on all sides...I am working on all this. It is funny actually because when I have new clients come by to shop one of the first things out of their mouths when they walk in the door is...you don't have kids do you? I always laugh and say no...or at least I used to and I am sure come August those words will never again be uttered from their mouths. Well, it is what it is...and that is a good thing :-)

The second milestone met this week which also plays into this whole realization of...what the heck are we doing...is that I hit 20 weeks and that is officially the half way point of my pregnancy. In 20 weeks or less...God willing not more...especially in 100 degree weather...London will have arrived. It will be glorious and scary and everything in between but the point is she will be here and another milestone will be met and a brand new chapter in our lives will begin. She will mark the end of an era and the start of a wonderful new one.