it’s all retrospective

As I slowly put away a piece here and piece there - saying goodbye to the infant stage of Ammon’s life - I pause to reflect on these things and the roles they have played in our lives these last eight months.

I have been asked on numerous occasions by several people - whether seasoned parent or parent-to-be - what items we couldn’t live without, and what, if anything, could we have done without? Well, certainly, we have used everything that we have at least once - so nothing has been a waste of space. But what thing could we not have survived without? We couldn’t have done without our car seat, crib and highchair, of course. We use our stroller, jogger, pack-n-play and exersaucer often. But, when I ponder on the things that were lifesavers - the things that have become true fixtures of our home - my mind rests on two things:

My lovely, overstuffed, green chair whose home is Ammon’s room. Why? Because this was where I slept for the first four months of Ammon’s life. More specifically, this is where I comforted him, fed him, rocked him, loved him. And Brian spent his fair share of time in this chair, too. A wise investment indeed to choose such an overly comfortable chair.
Ammon’s swing. Why? Because this was where Ammon napped for the first six months of his life. We couldn’t get him to nap in any other place. How invaluable was this device? Absolutely vital, no doubt about it. Because of this swing, my arms got a break, my laundry got done, I got a shower. A wise gift indeed.

As Ammon continues to grow, my chair gets used less and less - becoming more a holder of laundry than a holder of love. I do take a moment here and there to sit down and cuddle my sweet boy - who is now far too busy to snuggle for long. I pause to read him a book or sing him a song. Still a lovely treasure - to sweet and fond a memory to move it into another room and put aside.

Ammon’s swing has gotten more breaks of late - its batteries no longer need to be changed every week. But it still gets used from time to time… just this morning it helped soothe a fussy boy. Still invaluable in my book.

And while our boy grows more each day, these baby-things are still fixtures of our home. No need to put them away just yet.