It’s finally happened!
After many, many years, the blog sees a new addition to our family. The past few months have been a whirlwind. Ever since Jordan was born at the beginning of the year, Jane’s and my lives have been turned upside down and rightside up again. I went on leave from work from January through March, my days transformed into a blur of days and nights. The days: filled with chores, the maintenance of status quos, the feeding of hungry mouths, a Sisyphean struggle against the Second Law of Thermodynamics. The nights: hours of quiet alone time, chaotic awakenings, an endless search for podcasts, books, and audiobooks to occupy me between baby’s stirrings. The months have flown by, during which Jordan has grown from a mewling bundle of reflexes to a robust, sassy infant who coos and laughs and has opinions and wants (and only rudimentary ways of communicating them). While I haven’t had time for landscape photography, I have been taking plenty of snaps of baby in his new home.
The winter and spring have also pushed me to continue thinking deeply about where I want to take my life and my family, and how to find a new balance between my career and my own and my loved ones’ needs. I was gratified to find, upon returning to the hospital at the beginning of April, that I had missed the work, the connections and bonds formed in the course of working with patients, their loved ones, my colleagues, and my learners. I had thought that becoming a parent might upend my interests and goals, a world-shaking cataclysm and a loss of the before-life. But, I now realize that while the before-life has indeed been shaken up, parenthood has brought my priorities and needs into sharp relief rather than casting them aside. My days feel more meaningful, whether I am at home or in the hospital, the stories and encounters and memories more resonant than they were before. Now the challenge will be to walk the path, to continue finding energy and regenerative faith in my work, and in doing so to hopefully be a model for Jordan in his future life.
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April 29, 2023: After a few weeks of cold and rainy weather in Boston, we drive out to the Arnold Arboretum on a cold and rainy Saturday with baby and stroller in tow. After taking a short walk and finding a glade carpeted with blooming violets, buttercups, and dandelions, we set up the tripod (and wake up sleeping Jordan from his warm and cozy seat) to take our first family portrait in the great outdoors. Spring is here again in the Bay State, and with it the biggest of new beginnings.
May 6, 2023: A morning walk at Mt. Auburn Cemetery during baby’s first nap of the day. We take a series of family photos beside Halcyon Lake, beneath beautiful blooming azaleas, crabapples, and pink and white dogwood trees.
May 7, 2023: A warm spring day verging on the swelter of early summer. We take Jordan in the stroller over to Hall’s Pond Sanctuary here in Brookline, where a community clean-up and gardening day is underway. Jane spreads out a picnic mat for baby to lie on the grass in next-door Amory Park.
May 11, 2023: A mid-morning outing to Wollaston Beach in Quincy - Jordan’s first time seeing the ocean. We can only hang out on the sand for a little while before the sun becomes a bit much for baby. We grab seafood platters and a raspberry iced tea to-go at Tony’s Clam Shop and return home.
June 10, 2023: Short morning walks with baby J along the Muddy River, and to a nearby playground for some rolling fun on the grass.
