Same old song and dance routine

Georgia: Footie pjs, Christmas morning

It's 2014! Ken here -- to report that we're stepping to the rhythm of a new routine, and I can sum it up with two words: Footie. Pajamas. That's right. We wear our footie pj's nightly now, as we watch our nocturnal  temperatures drop to minus 20, minus 30. (Not gonna lie -- I wear my t-shirt and socks underneath those pj's. It's cold.) Last week, I asked Mom why we always put the left foot in first. Of the footie pjs, that is. She really couldn't tell me. Since then, I've been choosing my first foot in, and this deviance from routine has a certain sweetness to it. Deliciously rebellious, yet safe from serious circumstance. Just call me William Earnest Henley.

As the temperatures are handing us a vortex of the polar variety, so too has the Corrigan Conrad household shifted into a vortex of interesting opportunity. Effective January 6, Dad accepted and began a full time job. While this completely feeds my faith in the good fellowship of humanity (i.e. former boss of Dad's called him up and said, "Hey, this would be perfect for you," to which -- after a bit of exploration -- my dad whole-hardheartedly agreed), this decision of my dad (and mom) to exit his job as full-time child-behavior-shaper and household manager brings its own whirlwind of adjustment in routine.

Ken & Sam via Nanny Kate's cell phone

We have a nanny now. Her name is Kate. I decided yesterday that I like her. (YES, it took me a few weeks. Sam and Georgia, on the other hand: Immediate adoration). She gets me to and from preschool, paints paper plates with us, teaches us new songs to sing, and makes sure that all the pieces to our board games are put back in their right place every day. Who knew there'd be another lady out there as bright and confident as my mom? She's not my mom. She's not my dad. But, I've decided she's' a keeper.

And so it goes. Just as I'm dancing to my own routine of footie pj's, so too are Mom and Dad stepping into this two-parents-working-and-child-care-is-an-official-part-of-our-family-and-now-we-shop-at-Target-on-Sunday-like-everyone-else thing. It's an adjustment, but I do think it's going well, so far. This week, Mom watched a handful of her work friends exit their full time gigs, and -- thankful as she is for the chance to continue in her current position -- she whispered a secret to me as we finished our bed time routine. 

Footie pj's, studying note from Santa

"As JP2 and our guy Francis would say," she said, as she fastened the top snap of my pj's, "There's dignity in work, Kenneth.To have work, and to tie your work routines to a purpose -- no matter if that work is corporate, volunteer, at-home, or elsewhere -- is an expression of ourselves, and our 'innate, God-given dignity.'" 

I'm not sure what all that means yet, but three cheers for new opportunities and new routines. May you, my reader, find a chance to study your own routines, perhaps step with a different foot, and taste a sense of adventure as you embark on this new year.

Until next time, 
Ken

PS -- Christmas was awesome! And this winter is relentless. See you next time.