Anniversary & Babysitter

Last night Traci & I left Anna with a babysitter for the first time to celebrate our anniversary "on the town". Of course, by "on the town" I mean at a restaurant 3 blocks from home. You know, just in case. There was some nervousness in the minutes leading up to the sitter's arrival. There was anxiousness as we gave detailed instruction to the sitter who must've thought that we were under the impression that this was the first time that she'd seen an actual human baby. We sat for several mintues while she & Anna got acquainted. And then, with our breath held, we were off. We wondered if she'd cry all evening. We hoped there would be no fussy spells. Just how quickly would we get the call to come home?

At first, it was weird and unfamiliar to be out, just the two of us, at night, in a restaurant. We talked for a while about Anna. We wondered what she was up to at home. We stared at the cell phone, wondering if it'd ring. We hoped she was sleeping and eating. As we settled into the evening, we talked about the highlights of the last roller coaster of year - getting married, our big trip, becoming pregnant, preparing for a baby & then her actual arrival. We talked about the everyday normal, non-climactic events of our first year of marriage too. We tried to suppose how this evening would've gone had we not had Anna yet. Oddly, neither of us could even begin to guess. Just eight weeks in and she's changed us that much.

By nine o'clock dinner was done & we were headed home. By old standards, it was an early night. By current standards, we were pooped. As we approached home, the nervousness returned. We crept quietly up the sidewalk, listening for the uncontrollable wails that we expected. We opened the door to find our happy baby, on the sitters lap, playing with a rattle. She had eaten, but not napped while we were out and she was pooped too. A quick bottle and she was off to bed. We were not far behind. And then, we got the best anniversary gift of all. Anna slept the whole night through. The whole night.