1996. Halloween party
before my daughter was born i worried about how things would change
i didn’t have any close friends with kids, so i really had no idea what life would be
like once the baby arrived
my imagination tended to lean toward the negative – not the new inspiring
experiences, but all the things that i wouldn’t be able to do anymore.
i imagined that we’d stop going out
that we’d only socialize with other people who had babies
that we’d get swallowed by parenthood
i knew there was good stuff, i just didn’t know what specifically
staring at the baby and saying “oh my god, it’s so cute!” didn’t resonate in the way
“you’ll never go out again” did
isabelle was born in may. when she was a week old we pushed her in her buggy
to a cafe. we ate lunch. it was kind of amazing
as she got older we took her to the park. pushed her on a swing. wow – it was fun.
when halloween rolled around we went to a party. we brought her with us
we dressed her up. we socialized with people who did not have kids
it was just like old times only better
it was a huge relief. i felt hopeful that everything would be OK