What day is it?

Before Jackson entered my life, I was really looking forward to maternity leave. Yes, I was excited about the new baby but I was also excited about 16 weeks off of work with nothing on my schedule and a lot of time to reflect and ponder a whole slew of things. People at work kept telling me that they thought I'd have a problem "checking out." But not only was I totally ready to check out, I was excited about it. No offense to my co-workers, but I really haven't thought about you much!

These last two and a half weeks have been the fastest of my entire life. With Chad at home and our family out of town for the last several days, each day has started blending into the next. I actually love it, but I'm completely baffled by it at the same time.

Let's just say having a newborn does not enable any level of efficiency. ("Tell me about it," all of you are saying who already have children.) How I'm home all day and can't find time to make my bed or do one load of laundry or put away the Christmas gifts or wash the dishes is absolutely beyond me. But between eating and burping and calming and changing diapers, I'm amazed at how little time I have on my hands. With a rare moment of silence around here, I find myself counting down the clock until Jackson has to eat again (at the moment, we've got 87 minutes to go) while feverishly cleaning off the kitchen counter tops, writing thank-you notes, taking Lucy out or shooting off a few quick emails. I've never been so unproductive, but so busy!

I have a completely new appreciation of parents. Specifically, those who blow-dry their hair and put on make-up and look cute, not tired. (Though the sleeping part really is getting better.) The last time I consciously left the house attempting to look cute was a week ago when we went to a friend's holiday potluck and it was a three-hour production to make that happen.

As we plod through the surreal experience of life with a newborn, I find myself wondering: How do people do this while taking care of older kids? How do people do this who have twins? How do people do this without family nearby?

Last night, Chad and I were sitting around the tree listening to Christmas music after making dinner. After a few minutes of silence, he looked at me reflectively. I was waiting for something profound.

"What day is it?"

[Pause. My wheels started turning. Slowly.]

It's Saturday, I said. Remember? You're going to go down to Ramparts tomorrow and watch the Bears game.

"Oh right," he said.

My, how things have changed.

And, right on cue, the baby wakes up...