I’ll admit, this is one of my favorite blog posts to write, because I feel like I get to be chatty and talk about the little things.  So, if we were grabbing coffee together right now, I’d tell you that watching my almost-three-year-old daughter blossom into a real little person is one of the biggest joys of my life right now.  It’s so easy to get caught up in the “who will you be?” phase of having a newborn. They’re little blank slates, they could be anything!  And they still are when they’re three, don’t get me wrong; thank goodness I’m not the adult equivalent of who I was at three years old.  But, it’s so charming to see little people begin to express real traits and strengths and even struggles.  Seeing my daughter refer to every new kid she meets at the playground as “my best friend!” warms my heart.  Seeing her express interest in this over that, that over this, is fascinating to me; what forms those decisions, what guides her interests?  Is it innate, is it the pull of marketing, what is it?  It’s just fascinating and fun to watch a whole little person develop at such a fast pace.

If we were sitting across from each other, I might tell you how I cannot, absolutely cannot, will not, read one more Duck and Goose board book with the letters mixed up, the way my daughter loves, because I have said the F word one too many times while doing so whenever there’s something like “Duck Finds” on the page.  Sorry kid, we need to either pick a different book series for this game, or pick a different game.

I would probably, at some point, tell you about some of the struggles and successes we’ve had in my family as summer begins.  How utterly complicated life can get sometimes, but how joyful, too.  If you told me six years ago as my husband and I were struggling with infertility and loss that now, in 2017, we’d have an almost-three-year old, I might not have believed you; it’s funny, how things can change and happen when you least expect them to.  As I work through the various curveballs life throws at me and my family, this is what I try to remember: nothing is certain, nothing is guaranteed, nothing should be taken for granted.  Even when things look bleak, I can turn to see my daughter rolling around on the carpet giggling to herself, or pretending to be a doctor with her stuffed Piglet, or informing me oh-so-seriously that she is a big girl now….”or at least a medium-sized girl.”  The bad things aren’t going to stay bad forever.

Oooooon a lighter note, I might also confide that I really am so, so bad at small talk at the playground. But then…is anyone good at this?  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I might ask you things if we were chatting, too (because it’s more than just small talk when you’re with friends, right?) — like, what’s been your biggest struggle lately?  Or, what’s been your biggest success?  How about your greatest joy?  Of course since we’re not really chatting over coffee in real life, the comments section here will have to do.  I’ve told you about how I’m doing…how are you?