There are a number of life lessons I’ve learned from my Dad, your Grandpa Duane Murphy, Lake. It seems like a good format to honor some of them here. The funniest part, is whenever I say,

You taught me that Dad!

He always looks at me with surprise,

Did I?

Yup! Here are ten life lessons from Duane:

1. Always pay off your credit card on time and in full every month.  
2. Start as young as possible saving for retirement. It’s hard to play catchup with lost time in the stock market. 
3. The number one cause of roadside failure is running out of gas. That’s entirely preventable. Your choice. 
4. Drive with a full three second following distance and an eye on the car in front of the car in front of you. Watch for their brakes lights. That’s who you’re following. 
5. Getting started on a project is getting you half way through. 
6. It’s amazing what large projects you can accomplish by chipping away at it one step at a time; a little attention every day.
7. Personal hygiene and personal fitness: be mindful every day. If you’re hungry between meals, have a piece of fruit.
8. An education is a prized accomplishment.  It makes you a better person. Do your homework every day and study hard. 
9. Life is short and your time is precious. Maximize your earning potential. 
10. Write and send letters with stamps. Everyone loves getting personal mail. 
11. Having children is the best thing in life. 

We went in to work today. Ostensibly to pick up some paperwork for Lake’s insurance enrollment, but it was primarily a social call. We had to introduce Lake around and say hello to all our work friends. He’s two months old already! 

Unbelievably, he slept through the entire excursion: four hours in the middle of the day. Nothing like wanting to show him off and then he’s all curled up and sound asleep… completely hidden. Ah, well, it seemed like people got the gist of his size and babyness even without being able to hold or interact with him. 

After “work” we went and played tennis. What fun. It’s a good feeling: getting back in the game. Auntie Lindsay met us at the courts to take Lake out of harms way. They went “Lindsin’ around” as Michael likes to say. 

Thank you friends for the wonderful day!

Today at our PEPS meeting we talked about post-baby fitness and body image. How to rehabilitate, love and accept our bodies after the pelvis has been exploded and is resettling itself, among other things. If and how to get our bodies back. Our bikini bodies. 

The thing about a bikini body is it can be feared and perceived as elusive, perhaps even unattainable. And it can be as available and as simple as taking your body as it is and putting a bikini on it. Begin there. I love that it’s August first today and in many parts of Europe such as in France and Italy, August is spent on holiday at the beach. Layers off; bikinis on. Then spend four active relaxing weeks sunning swimming walking talking eating resting. Every day. Every year. Every phase of life. Enjoying the body we are in. It’s both a profound act of acceptance as well as a motivating force to have a bikini body. 

Then in addition to a healthy lifestyle it also doesn’t hurt to do some focused core work either. Right now I’m working on a daily practice of three repetitions of 2 minute planks. Something that I can actually accomplish during a few free minutes. Lake and I get to share some tummy time!

While his mummy was rockin’ out this morning to Daddy’s favorite tunes Lake rolled over. I rocked with my breast friend. He rolled from front to back. Mr. Cat looked on. 

Lake is getting so big, we’re trying to make more room for him to grow in. So, we did another round of massive tidying today. The rockin’ and rolling kept it light, kept the overwhelm at bay a bit. Hard workers all of us!

Lake’s two month birthday present arrived today. How exciting! Mr. Silky feels it too. 

We’ve been anticipating this moment for quite some time now. We are celebrating with watermelon agua fresca whipped right up in the new Vitamix and a movie night. It’s so hot we decide to stay with the theme and watch Walkabout, a thoughtful 1971 film set in the Australian outback. The agua fresca is necessarily refreshing. It hits the spot! Our new baby food maker is proving its worth right out of the box. Michael claims it makes him feel instantly elevated, especially combined with our InstantPot and Glassybaby collection. Ahhh… we’ve arrived at the ultimate in appliance lifestyle. It’s even better shared with friends during our little impromptu party.  

Of course it is also quite exciting that Lake is two months old today. He’s a perfect human being; working so hard at living and growing. We love him so much. Lake, we are glad you arrived and are here with us now. 

We thought we were ready. It’s the height of summer, we have all this time off, we are getting our feet back under us. It’s almost a moral failing or a guilty conscious to not go hiking being me from here. Enough with stylish coddling in the city, it’s time to get out into nature, where the essence of our lives are distilled to the most essential, like drops of colostrum. I tell my longtime friend Katie, I’m ready for a backpack, just a one-nighter. Lake is portable. I’m never happier than walking. We are mobile. It seems like the biggest challenge is simply 

How can I fit enough cloth diapers into my backpack?

Katie wisely deflects my enthusiasm to join her on her backcountry rare plant survey, and instead suggests we all go together with her three year and eight year old girls on a dayhike in the North Cascades. Part of me knew this was the prudent first step anyways. So we set up a date, which was yesterday. We rendezvoused in Sedro Woolley at a park with a playground and carpooled up to the trailhead from there. 

The intensity started right out of the gate. Lake had suffered a blow out, so poo is dripping between him and his car seat when I extract him from the car. There is not a drop of shade in the parking lot, and what it lacks in amenities it makes up for with biting deer flies. We manage to get cleaned up, and sun screened and bug repellent-ed using the picnic table as our comfort station… I don’t have a square centimeter left on my body by the time I’m done that’s not been bathed in about three different layers of sunscreen and insect repellent. The midday sun at this elevation presses into me with a sense of emergency. I’m anxious for shade, a quiet baby and no flies.

At 3:15 we were finally headed up the track.

Well, Sauk Mountain really socked it to us. Goodness! I could not in good conscience recommend this hike to anyone I care about. It’s frankly a harrowing hike. 

They are not kidding. The tread is significantly deteriorated by erosion to the point it is only marginally safe at best. And here I am with Lake in the front pack and as much water as I could carry in my backpack, doing my inaugural dayhike since Michael proposed at Gem Lake last year. My symphysis pubis is not yet fully rejoined. I still have ligament pain and instability in my sacroiliac joints and my core, in spite of my best efforts to the contrary. I’m all top heavy. It’s super hot and the deer flies are ubiquitous and biting! Unfortunately the view is absolutely stunning from Mt. Rainier to Mt. Baker. Heaps of wildflowers in prodigal bloom. Obscene amounts and variety of butterflies. 

The air was fresh and sweet. Especially on the way down, after some time had passed and the sunscreen/bug repellent fragrance was wearing off. I could breathe in the mountain air. Big lungfulls to store up for the return to the city. 

We made it back down to the trailhead in just one hour. Safe and sound. We were the last car in the lot. It was cooler, there were fewer flies, and I was significantly less addled when performing the perfunctory picnic table nappy change and Lake refueling. What a day! Katie had driven and so it was a luxury to have to girls to provide “in-flight” entertainment for Lake in the form of peek-a-boo, singing songs, admiration and general goings ons. He was engaged and quiet for the car ride home. Refreshed after his “nature bath,” oblivious to the fretting of his mummy, he was completely content. A strong hiker. A perfect day. More to come. We are glad we spent this one with you.

Lake has two big blueberry eyes. I thought it was adorable yesterday when my friend’s thoughtful and intelligent 8 year old daughter proclaimed:

Lake would get First Prize for Eyes.

Today those award winning eyes accompanied me on a full day of appointments. He got his zen on at mummy’s acupuncture visit, got weights and measures at the doctor and even went to the dentist. Don’t we look happy (and filled with relief!) about the fact that we made it through our first teeth cleaning together! His homework is to aid me in getting back to my twice daily dental care routine. The morning brushing got dropped these past few months and the teeth sat up and took notice today!

We spent the rest of the afternoon at Greenlake staying cool in the shade by the water. We walked 6.5 miles today and boy I’m tired! Perhaps partially due to the heat and also owing to that he’s officially weighing 11.5 pounds now. 

Last evening Lake and I shared a few peaceful transition moment down on Lake Washington by the UW Waterfront Activities Center. This warm evening reprieve from the hot day was especially refreshing coming after a long and difficult 24 hours of distinctly non-“Newman Lake time” yesterday. We had a rough close of day Sunday night encountering significant congestion from Cle Elum home due to construction and accidents, then juggling the unloading of the car with Lake unhappy to be helping and unhappy to be sitting it out too. The next day post-holiday Blues of unpacking, house cleaning, and grandparent withdrawals set in. Not having Nana and Grandpa’s extra sets of loving hand and heart and smiling interfaces around put us in a challenging adjustment period of being back home in the city. 

So it was in this frame of mind that we found ourselves exhausted and spent, feeling near overwhelm. Then suddenly we are back at the water’s edge feeling the gentle rocking of the waves, the sounds of the lapping and the boats. I find it so interesting what a different environment being on or near the water creates. Simply walking out onto the dock is calming. I forget that this access point to a new perspective is so close really, only a few blocks away. 

Evening by the lake turned to night, and somewhere in there we seemed to hit our reset button. The house is tidy. The laundry is queued. The kitchen and bathroom are clean. It is good to be home with Daddy again. My husband is a very good listener. That played no small role in lessening our burden. And then today dawns a brand new day. 

We are resilient and ready for resuming our urban adventures! First day for the Baby Björn! Lake and I celebrate this shared milestone with matching outfits and several play dates.