State of the Union

It's customary for the media to chart the first 100 days of the US Presidency (although I still shake my head that Dubya is the 'leader' of the greediest nation on earth - at least until India then China's economies really start firing). It's also said the first 100 days in a new job hold the much of the keys to your long-term future there.

Today marks Lydia's first 'ton' - and while not as rapid as Adam Gilchrist's last lightning fast Pommy-bashing in the one-day final decider, she's certainly made a significant milestone. Some reflections:

Weaning proceeds well - and as soon as she's reached the stage where breast milk is no longer produced, we are then free to share her with our network of friends so we can briefly pretend that we're DINKS once more and perhaps see a movie in a cinema together again (the last one was Robots - I have seen Revenge of the Sith and Fantastic 4 with friends, but V's yet to do a girl film).

The power of a community of caring relationships is remarkable. We have been inundated with love and practical support - at times embarassingly so. For the first 5 weeks, we received three home cooked meals every Monday, Wednesday & Friday. While Lydia has more stuffed toys than we have names for, we also were given a cot (both fixed and portable), a pram, a play mat, multiple bunny rugs, nappies, car seat - clothing (most it brand new). Everything that anyone could think of that was a big ticket item, we often had a choice of which one we accepted.

Victoria's mum's craft capabilities having us almost drowning in many of the practical things like singlets, but with the loving touch of hand-sewn flowers. Patterns of fabric are being purchased in advance for the creation of future fashions.

All of this leads me to the conclusion that blood is truly thicker than water. While conventional wisdom would interpret blood as 'biological family', the reality of following Jesus means that your blood ties extend so much further. We're so grateful that Lydia has so many brothers, sisters, aunties, uncles and grandparents so willing to love and care for us all. I don't know how many of my peers who work similar or longer hours than I without a similar level of support actually do it. The sad fact is, many don't make it - or settle for a life that's a carbon-copy (either Friends, Desperate Housewives or Lost - take your pick).

I wonder about the number of people who the ABS tell us now live alone, or only have a network of peers for support. What kind of community does it create? One that's great in a crisis or celebration, maybe - but how about the everyday relationships? Whatever one thinks of Hilary Clinton, she was right when she said it takes a village to raise a child. Although Lydia is a combination of Victoria & I, without a broader community she'd be a very isolated little girl (and even if we have more, we'd be an isolated little family. The more I look at Lydia when she's sleeping, or gaze into her eyes while bottle-feeding, or give her things to grab on the playmat, the more I'm so glad we're not in this alone. I can't imagine what it would be like if she had any major health challenges and we didn't have the people we do in our lives.

All this ruminating comes in the midst of a season of great busyness. Work is really firing up - for the next 2 Fridays I'm in Orange then Melbourne. I had three days in Melbourne a couple of weeks ago for training at very short notice. Good to connect with the Vic team, stay in Hawthorn and experience Melbourne culture a bit. Outside paid work continues to flow in at a rate which mean that Victoria may not need to take on full-time work outside of home for a considerable period of time. It's nice to be paid to get a crash-course in cutting-edge Human Resource practices. All I need to to find writing gigs in Finance, IT and Management Strategy, and I'll have covered off on an MBA while earning the $50,000 it takes to study at a blue-chip business school.

Anyhow, Lyddy's due up in 15, and it's a big day - new suits to buy (first for 7 years!), dry-cleaning, V's chiropractor, the latest Harry Potter to pick up (although when I'll finish reading it is anyone's guess), marketing strategies to draft, and family bonding in the midst of it all.

Have a good one, whatever you're doing out there in blog-land :-).

Work/Life Balance?

Does such a term exist, or is normal just a setting on your washing machine?

I'm working from Newcastle today (at this stage 1 day/week). The job is easily doable, but the travel is slowly draining (compounded by times when I arrive at the office at 7am and the server is down).

This is a quick entry before Lydia arises for her morning feed (I can hear her stirring now). At almost 14 weeks, she's just starting to sleep through (with some gentle encouragement). A couple of photos from 6-7 weeks ago for your viewing pleasure (I know, I know, we don't have a digital camera and our scanner isn't connected to the computer - it's a work in slow progress, like this blog).



On weekdays, I'm up by 4:30am to be on the road to the office & avoid traffic-jams.
Lydia seems to stir at that time too. On weekends, however, she sleeps through. Other vital statistics:

1. We're weaning. V wasn't producing enough milk for L to put on weight consistently, so rather than go back to compulsory 3 hour feeds and a jersy-cow production system (think Invasion of the Body Snatchers combined with the Matrix), we bit the bullet and moved to formula. Within a week, L has obviously stacked on weight - hopefully she won't follow in her parent's footsteps.

2. Lots of smiles and noises - a new noise each week, it seems. L's a very happy & contented little girl.

3. Hands are now grasping things well (although instinctive), fingers are being sucked, head is held up well during tummy time, and the half-roll is almost mastered.

Anyhow, L's getting annoyed at my lack of visible devotion (and is starving). Must dash...