Winding Down

(this is a post I drafted on my iPad a little over a month ago)

May 26, 2014

It's Memorial Day and I'm sitting inside at P.M., drinking a glass of white wine, listening to a Grateful Dead mix playing not so quietly in the background.  Interesting place, P.M.  Sleeping Joe is beside me, tucked away and dozing in the City Elite stroller (tip of the cap, again, to Baby Jogger, or #babyjogger, as we say in the "age of Twitter).

Things are winding down, or so it feels to me in the here and now.

Joe is almost 2 1/2 years old and my weekend afternoons with him in the stroller have dwindled to almost nothing.  J.P.'s baseball games on Saturdays inevitably intrude, as we scramble to find a suitable nap time and place for Joe.  Also, he's getting to the age where he naps really well in his crib.  It's a little easier for me to take J.P. on weekend afternoons, let Joe nap in his crib and give Jude a little well deserved down time.  It's been on the horizon for a while and, in truth, it's here - the end of my weekend afternoon strolls with Joe.  And it absolutely kills me.  I could write an entire blog post about it, and I probably will.

J.P. finished school at Children's House last week.  3 wonderful years filled with love, learning, laughter and the occasional tears.  Jude and I learned as much, if not more, than he did.  I suspect that's always going to be the case.  What a spectacular place for J.P. to spend his 3rd, 4th and 5th years, surrounded by friends and teachers who loved him every day.  The age of innocence for him (and us), is almost over and, to be sure, it went by far too fast.  All of J.P.'s K-club friends have scattered to the winds ad they prepare to attend different schools this fall.  Although I diligently tried to appreciate every minute J.P. spend at Children's House, I can't quite shake the nagging feeling that I took it a little bit for granted.  I find myself more than a little sad at the prospect of it coming to and end.  Winding down, if you will.

J.P.'s baseball team, with I coached - the Red Sox, completed or season yesterday.  What a great group of boys and parents, the likes of which I'm not sure I'll see again.  6U baseball is maybe the perfect youth sport.  Coach pitch (or tee ball, for the boys who struggle to make contact with the ball) allows me to develop a one-on-one bond with each boys, pitcher to batter.  It's special.  Everybody bats, nobody keeps score and nobody makes an out.  Perfect.  We're starting a 6U all star team next week and that's a totally different deal.  Winning and losing.  Succeeding and failing.  Making outs.  In a different context, the end of the age of innocence. 

In our last practice on Tuesday, J.P. bounced a ball over the centerfield fence during batting practice, which stunned him and me (gale force winds notwithstanding).  It was awesome! 

Jude and I have looked at houses, talked about renovating our house and poured over new listings e-mailed to us by our realtor.  Our time in our house, at least as it's currently situated, is nearing an end.  We may renovate our house, we may sell it and buy a new one or we may sell our house and buy and renovate a new one.  Whatever happens, our time (almost 12 years0 in the house Jude and I bought on the eve of our marriage, the house in which we've laughed and cried and into which we carried both of our boys in a car seat as they arrived home with us from Baptist Hospital - well, it's winding down.

Now, Joe's nap is winding down.  He's starting to stir in the stroller.  Time to walk down to Bongo Java, so I can have a sippy cup of mile ready for him when he awakes.  And then, a nice stroll home, with Joe and I talking to each other all the way.

Life is good.