Cramming

In less than three weeks (if we're lucky), we will be adding another family member to our household. As I have shared, we have spent months shopping, cleaning, and mentally preparing for this new chapter. As we move through our to-do lists, I have found myself putting more and more emphasis on my daily interactions with Morgan. Things that have historically been mundane are now suddenly significant. Moments that would have otherwise gone unnoticed are now permanently filed in the recesses of my mind, like little tiny flashcards.

In February, we celebrated Morgan's half-birthday with one half of a cake and one half of a song. Objectively, this day meant no more than any other day, as we've never celebrated half birthdays before. But in that moment, as she and I mixed batter and poured sprinkles, that day was everything. From the moment I started telling people that I was pregnant, they asked how old Morgan would be when her sister was born. Morgan (even now) would beam and proudly exclaim, "I will be 6 and half!" And so we celebrated, marking the last time she will blow out candles without a little sibling under foot.

In March, as we wandered the isles of the party supply store, Morgan and I spent nearly an hour among the party supplies, planning grand events and elaborate costumes. As we cackled over the increasingly ridiculous masks we found and tried on, I paused. There was no toddler there to supervise, no little hands to stop from pulling everything off the shelves. It was just the two of us, me and my little best friend. And we are friends. We plan lunch dates and manicures, strategizing on how to spend our Saturdays. We gang up on David, sharing a glance whenever he doesn't get the joke.

Although I know we'll have so many more of these moments, I couldn't help but panic just a little when I realized that we will be sharing our time with another member of our family. Or maybe, just maybe it was my own realization that with the arrival of a sister comes a new relationship that I won't necessarily be a part of. Again, the rational part of me welcomes this next chapter, but I am already mourning the loss of the status quo.

This week, Morgan had no school on Wednesday. We made it a girls' day at the movies, taking in a matinee while David was suffering through a mandatory in-service. I called my mom from the car, and mentioned in passing that this was the last movie Morgan and I would go see before her baby sister arrived. We chuckled a bit about how quickly time is passing and then hung up. And then I proceeded to sob the rest of the way to the theater. I let her sit on my lap (or what's left of it) throughout the movie and was all to happy to oblige when she asked me if we could spend $5 and visit the photo booth.

As the tiny images emerged, I couldn't help but laugh at my ridiculousness over the past several months. These photos so perfectly captured our relationship, the bond that is so solidly formed between us. And what better way to commemorate the transition from one daughter to two, from being an only child to being sisters, from being a family in flux to a complete family of four. Yeah, I think we're ready.