What I’m thankful for going into this week:
1. We’re done switching the office and B’s bedroom. Why we ever decided to put B in the smaller room as a baby and then move him into the bigger room when he got a little older is beyond me – all it did was make a future hassle for us, and a hassle we’d have a toddler around for! We had to cram all our office furniture into our bedroom for the weekend to make space for his things in the bigger bedroom, and then once his things were out of the smaller bedroom we moved our office things in there. We still have some reorganizing to do in the office, but the move is done. I’m happy the house is now in its forever configuration.
2. My kid handles change we really well. I know that’s not the case for a lot of toddlers. We had talked with him a little bit in advance about his bedroom moving, and it probably helps that his new room has a cool new race car bed, but even without the cool new bed I think he would’ve been fine. He’s happy as a clam in his new room.
3. We had a really fun play party on Sunday. We invited a few toddler families over so the kids could play in a new space and the adults could hang out together. We set up a vegetarian gyro bar and a toddler snack table, and arranged the back yard to fit as many people as possible, and it went well! We really like the parents we had over, and now that we’re almost done with the co-op (how we know most, but not all, of the families) we’re hoping to transition to being actual friends with some of them. I’ve been trying to crystalize what exactly makes a parent feel like somebody I can be friends with. Aside from what I look for in a friend regardless – compassionate, funny, similar values – we want friends we can drink a few beers and talk shit about our kids with (out of earshot of the kids, of course). The co-op environment can feel so precious, with a lot of parents who would be truly bothered to hear somebody say “oh man, my kid was such a dickhead all weekend.” Those parents are not for me. Parenting is hard, and we don’t need to make it harder by pretending it’s always a magical experience. Like, let’s not take ourselves that seriously.
4. Our backyard. It’s small, but it’s so nice to have a little oasis in the middle of the city, and it’s mostly in the shade in the evening, which is wonderful.
5. That I’ve spent the past year writing. Before having B I was a pretty lazy writer, waiting for inspiration to strike and not being very purposeful with whatever story I was trying to tell. Which all meant I did very little actual writing, and what I did write was usually sloppy and lacked intention. The first couple years after having B I just didn’t feel like I was in the headspace to spend the little free time I had writing. Last June, when it became clear I’d be staying home another year, I committed to spending that year making a real effort with writing. And in that time I’ve written six short stories, started working on a new novel, and created a really cool little writing group. Six short stories might not sound like much, but they’re real stories I’ve put thought into crafting and effort into refining. I’m so grateful that for whatever reason, last June everything came together to prompt me to get serious about my writing. This next year I’m hoping for another six short stories, a finished novel draft, a few acceptance letters and maybe a second, different kind of writing group. Either a workshop group or just a group of writers in my area who meets regularly to work.
Denise Resting 
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