Enter the Sam(man)

Dear Glob,

Phew, what a week… Not only did we welcome little Samuel into our crazy family, but I also accepted my first “real” job and have hardcore started to look for apartments in the city. Sheesh, so much to digest, yet I welcome all the “mo m e n t u m ! ! !” Bring it on, 2007!

Sam… Before he was born, Little Brother and I were talking about how weird it was that there was another member to our immediate family who we hadn’t met yet. We didn’t know it’s name. We didn’t know what it looked like. We didn’t know exactly when it would come. Heck, we even didn’t know if it was a boy a girl! Now that he’s here, its like we’re all in a daze, going through the motions of holding him, changing his diaper, talking to him in that silly “baby voice,” but it still hasn’t sunk in, at least for me. This little baby is the continuation and combination of the Whale’s and our family; our hope for the future. The feeling is too big for me to fully explain…

I distinctly remember watching P. head off for her first year at Cornell. It was a bittersweet moment, mixed with both sadness and complete awe. How cool she was, all grown-up and leaving to live on her own! “Wow,” I thought watching the car pull out of the driveway, “I’ll never be ready to leave for college…” Next thing you know, I am 5 years removed from my NYU days. P. is and always will be my eldest sister, but during this time the age difference had evened out. We were both at a stage where we had grown-up jobs in the city, and enjoyed doing grown-up things together. We would occasionally meet up for lunch in the park to talk about work issues or hang out at a bar with the Whale for pints of beer and curly fries. Most importantly, I didn’t feel like the annoying little sister always wanting to tag along with her cool older sister.

Now enter the Sam(man).

With the new addition, P. has now jumped up another level. And again I’m the little sister who doesn’t understand, getting in the way, and only allowed to touch the baby’s feet*. But unlike college, which was an eventual event in my life, a baby, for me, is not. How cool she was, all grown-up and having a baby of her own! “Wow,” I thought watching her hold Sam in her arms, “I’ll never be ready for a baby…” Oy vey, we’ll see…

*When my little brother was born, I was deemed to young and… er… unsanitary to hold the new baby, and was only allowed to touch his feet. If you sift through all of Little Brother’s baby pictures, P. or Mojo are usually holding him with me grasping one of his feet. Typical, eh?