AC Capehart capehart

Dear Sam, I’ve been writing this letter to you in mind for weeks now, but until now I haven’t managed to spill the words onto a page. I hope you’ll cut me a little slack, because, you know, in addition to everything else going on during your 11th month, there was the little matter of that CROSS-COUNTRY move. Oh yes. You began this month in Altoona, PA and ended it in El Cerrito, CA.

Dear Sam, I’m writing this to you in your Uncle John’s old room at Gradyville, PA. You are asleep in my old room, clutching a toy car and set of plastic keys. The knees of your purple pants are filthy, your feet are covered in carpet fuzz and cat fur, and your round little tummy rises and falls rhythmically, straining against the straps of the car seat you fell asleep in.

Dear Sam, I have big shoes to fill (you can take that figuratively or literally, as you like, because yes, your daddy has big feet). Since your daddy spent this past month in California, it is up to me to provide the chronicle of your ninth month. Nine months! Good lord, child, you’ve now been out for as long as you were in. How did that happen? When I look at your impish smile and the light tripping in your eyes I can barely recall the tiny, sleepy newborn Sam that used to fit along the length of my arm from elbow to palm.

My dearest Samantha, As I start writing this, I’m on an airplane flying away from you. We’ll be separated for weeks. Alas, as I look this over for posting, it’s already almost three weeks later. The job, and the housing search have been consuming my time. I had heard reports from a couple of people who had been out of work for a while about how long the days seemed when they finally were back in the 9-5 workforce.

Dear Sam, Wow. Another month whipped by. I can’t believe how quickly it feels like April went. Of course, for you, it was one seventh of your life, and for me it was about one three hundred and fortieth, so we’re bound to have at least slightly different takes on it. That said, looking back, your mom and I still managed to come up with a number of things regarding your development that we think noteworthy.

Dear Sam, When I started this, “monthly” seemed like the right time frame. In fact, it seemed a little aggressive. Thinking about my own life, it seems that little actually changes month-to-month. Maybe my vocabulary increased by 1 word (this month, it was papabile), maybe I put on a pound, (or took if off if I was lucky). I was worried that I’d have nothing to say about your growth.

Samantha, I’m just about ready to stop apologizing for the fact that your monthly newsletter, while coming out every month, does not, in fact, come out on (or even very close to) your actual, specific birthday. I’m a more sporadic blogger than I’d like to be, and your newsletter suffers somewhat for that fact. Nonetheless, it’s here now, and I’m pleased to report that your fifth month was once again a banner month for you.

Well, Sam, I’m off to a late start again, but I’ve not forgotten your newsletter. As in previous months, a lot has changed this month. Highlighting these changes has been your basic physical shape. I’ve been facinated by reviewing pictures from previous months. Dr. Karp (The Happiest Baby on the Block) talks about the first three months as the “fourth trimester” and it was certainly a reasonable description for you.

Dear Sam, Once again, I find myself writing your monthly newsletter well past the end of your month. I have a little bit better excuse this month — we were traveling back from Mom-mom and Granddaddy’s on the day you turned 3 months old. This trip was interestingly exhausting and recharging for me. You didn’t seem to care much one way or the other, except you seemed to like some of the music you heard while you were there.

Samantha, Imagine if you will: You’re on a TGV or Bullet Train. You’re traveling through snowy, mountainous countryside. As you speed along, you pass through regularly spaced tunnels each a little bit longer and closer than the previous. As a result, it’s alternately light and dark, and you hear a bit of a whoosh sound as you make each transition. That’s what this past month has been like for me.