Every year in Olympia, WA there is a huge parade for Earth day called the Procession of the Species. All the hippies and the hippy families and the hippy children dress up like whatever species they feel inclined towards and walk/dance around the streets of Olympia. This year's procession was extra special because it was Soren's first. The Procession is the perfect example of the spirit of Olympia, quirky, creative, happy and fun!
Nor Jacob or I have never dressed up for or been a part of the procession. We've watched from the sidelines every year slightly jealous that we didn't have the energy or creativity that the individuals that walk the parade do. We wore our civilian clothes and would bounce lightly to the beat of the music. This year however I decided that I wanted to dress Soren up! I thought for a long time about what I wanted him to be and then realized the perfect thing- a blooming cactus! I have been enamored by the beauty of Southwestern flora and fauna since I studied Ecology in the Grand Canyon back in 2014. Such unique plants grow in that environment and I have always wanted to move to the area and be surrounded by such beauty. But the summer are harsh and the air can be so dry! So I decided to make my favorite person into my own little Cactus to have here in Olympia!
I found the idea for how I would do the costume online but used my own ingenuity and creativity to make something that would be comfortable for Soren and could be used for regular clothing after the parade. I also bought him a $5 flower crown at Target for the "blooming" part. I'm so proud of my cute little cactus!
So Friday comes (the parade is Saturday) and we go to bed with thoughts of sweet giraffes prancing in our heads :) But we wake up in the middle of the night to a very very hot baby. Hot because he has a fever. Soren had been coughing for a few days and had a stuffy nose but this was the first sign of something more than just a cold. We spent a lot of time in the middle of the night cuddling and nursing. Usually not much can get him down, but when he woke up Saturday morning he was not a happy baby.
Early in the morning we had to drive down to Rochester to pick up some chickens (woohoo!) so we figured he would nap in the car. Well it wasn't the greatest nap and while we were in the back of the house rallying up the chickens he woke up in the car and realized we had left him. Bad mom moment. It had probably been less than 10 minutes that he was actually in there awake crying, but he was so sad. When I can back to the car he had big tears streaming down his face and the saddest look in his eyes. I don't know about you guys but Soren has three cries, bored, mad and sad. Like, the saddest. Heart-breaking sad. I felt more then awful, and I think it set the tone for the rest of the day.
We headed home to visitors and Soren immediately went down for a second nap (a real nap). I didn't want him wearing his costume while we were walking around downtown before the parade so I decided I would change him down there before the parade started.
Well that wasn't the best choice. I didn't change him until we got to our parade spot which was outside. It was windy and raining and I changed him outside in a frenzy. He still had a fever and was shivering, cold and upset. In hindsight I could have walked across the street and changed him in a changing room but I didn't. So thus far his first parade day consisted of being left alone in the car screaming, waking up to a house full of people and being overstimulated and mama getting him buck naked in the middle of a rainy, windy afternoon. And he had a fever, stuffy nose and cough still.
But the parade started and we put our smiles on and pointed out all the cool things for him to see. He watched, distracted but not his happy, chatty self. He didn't laugh, he didn't smile, he barely even budged. Mostly he just stared, which I can understand... but I know if he had been feeling better he would have been much more engaged. Now all I can think about is next year. "Oh next year he will have so much fun!" "Next year he will be dancing down the street!"
Even though it didn't go as I wanted to, nearly at all, it was still an experience. It will still be a memory. "Remember when Soren was so sick at Procession and I stripped him down to nothing to be a little cactus baby that no one even saw because he was in the Ergo the whole time?" And he survived, I didn't kill him. He was cold and upset but when we got home he must have been so thankful because he perked right up! And the sun came out today when he woke up and he has been as happy as a freaking clam.
And I'm so thankful. I'm thankful to have a little boy who can bounce back from feeling crummy. I'm thankful that he's not like that all the time. I'm thankful that he's such a happy baby that when he cries more than three times a day that's a bad day for him. I'm also thankful for my family and my friends, who don't judge me for being frantic, who tell me it's okay that I changed my sick baby in the cold rain. Motherhood is a learning experience, and even though I've worked with a lot of children of all ages, every child is different and every experience is different and we learn from each one. Even though this Procession was definitely not my favorite, it was Soren's first and it will always be his first and we will always remember how crazy it seemed. In three years when we have more than one babe, we'll probably look back and laugh, "we thought that was crazy! What did we know?!"
So here's to experiences, no matter how bad, no matter how good. No matter how old, young, sick or tired you are, you are making memories and that's what counts.
