Degrees of Relativity
Flying home from visiting Souk and Taylor in Washington, Eliana is sleeping soundly in her mother’s arms mid-breastfeed. Only now do I feel like I have the time and controlled setting to start writing another entry in the lives of the Leejillo family. I feel like a broken record saying this, but life has been challenging over the past few months. Having a child is a challenge unlike any we have ever experienced before. Super rewarding, super demanding. It’s been 13 months since she’s been born and only now do I feel like I’ve got a handle on the mental demands of the job. I have (almost) gotten used to the very limited free time we have and am becoming much more flexible with when to take it.
Months before, my free time (aka her nap time) would be taken up with mental recuperation: drudging through social media mindlessly or playing chess on the couch. I’d often find myself getting revved up to clean the kitchen and start on that postponed housing project...just as she was waking up. Sadly there was never enough time in the day. Time is still too short, but my willpower and motivation have been bolstered.
Over the past few months we have been in search of a part-time nanny to help with Eliana on the days after I bartend. The late nights and early mornings coupled with the mental exhaustion of watching a toddler have, how you say, added up to a sum greater than its parts. As my mind slowly unravels my memory, language skills and patience, I feel the unwanted effects on Sophie and my relationship. Our communication, quality time and love has never been so choppy, confusing or terse. Last week we finally found a nanny we both like who will hopefully start tidying up this messy tangle of yarn that is our lives. She starts next week. Only 10 months tardy.
Since the last entry, our little family has gone on two big trips to visit friends: one to Hotchkiss, CO and another to Bainbridge, WA. Last year we decided to start the tradition of taking an annual trip to a National Park with Eliana and this year we visited Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. Hotchkiss, CO is this sleepy little town near the park in western Colorado. Population hovers around 200. We stayed in this beautiful hacienda on a bluff overlooking the entire valley with a few of our closest friends: Bryan, Camille, their son Graham, and Dani and Sarah. The trip was everything we could have asked for while traveling with a toddler. Aside from visiting the National Park, we spent most of our time just eating, drinking, and playing games in our cute rental. Each couple had two nights of the week to make dinner for the entire group and we all ‘brought the heat’.
Our trip to Washington was enjoyable in a different way. It felt more like an extended weekend with close friends in an awesome environment. As Ellie grows older, her need for constant stimulation grows exponentially, leaving less room for the finer things in life: day trips to Seattle, lazy morning brunches in the forest, and poop-free airport travel. Sophie and I both agree; our traveling days are numbered until she gets a little older. We contemplated going to Greece and Italy next year with our friend Lindsay...the daydream will have to suffice. Despite having less room for the finer aspects of traveling, we did get to experience quite the bit of adventure.
On our way through Olympic National Park we drove on this pothole-laced, god-forsaken road for 10+ miles. With each winding turn and shaded patch of asphalt, the potholes seemed to grow bigger. Stronger. HUNGRIER. We made it to the last stretch of patchy road before it was smooth sailing AND…we popped two tires. That road gave us two big meaty middle fingers that day. Luckily for us, a Tesla had just popped it’s tires on the same last pothole so there was a tow truck an 1/8 of a mile down the road that we could wave down. He didn’t end up helping us, but in that grove of trees was enough service for us to call our own tow truck. 6 hours and $1300 later, we were back on the open, pothole-free highway in the highest of the most frustrated of spirits.
Life on Bainbridge Island is a pretty sweet gig. As our relatives in Utah updated us on the excessive heat wave victimizing Salt Lake City, Sophie and I both felt envious of the gem of a tiny house that Souk and Taylor have found. I can’t imagine a better location or summer weather than what we experienced all week. Each morning we’d wake up and get our fill of raspberries and strawberries growing on the property as the scattered sunlight would shimmer through the forest canopy. Morning clouds from the Puget Sound coated the island in a dreamy mist which transformed into cool sunshine and 70-80 degree afternoons. Grab yourself a glass from Souk’s endless natural wine collection and settle end for a crisp sunset and you’ve got yourself a perfect day in paradise, my friend. On one of our morning strolls we passed half an acre of pristine woodlands for sale. We started dreaming. In all seriousness, Sophie and I decided we might move up to the Pacific Northwest once we pay off our house in Utah. It’s a few years away, but it’s a shared goal we are both excited about.
Some how, some way, Eliana has continued to get cuter and more lovable with each passing day. I can’t even stand it sometimes. Her cute little smile, her friendly wave to strangers, her excited babblings of discovery are all just the cherry on top of her budding personality. If she were a food you could buy at the grocery store, she would be a fat-free, sugar-free cinnamon roll. Too sweet for her own good with hair that’s too cute and curly. You keep taking bites of this wonderful dessert wondering how this tasty little treat isn’t bad for you! We both love her so much. Sometimes I stare at her as she interacts with the world and the people in it and it brings tears to my eyes. She has reminded me of how special children are. So much potential to bring good into this world if we all help foster it. Sometime between all this newfangled traveling we managed to celebrate Eliana’s first birthday! We had a super hot June patio birthday bash with a slice of cake and heatstroke for all. It was fun. Baking your insides fun, but fun nonetheless.
Welp, our plane is about to land. I guess this is au revoir until our next plane ride in ten years. Now that we have a nanny, I hope to post more regularly so as not to miss so many Ellie milestones. And in case you’re wondering, she is STILL not walking. Getting closer every day, one step at a time.
Until next time,
Michael
